Once again, the world at our feet


February 20, 2024

	Once again, the world at our feet
	No unusual country like Albania last time, but perhaps that's for the best, isn't it. Starting this from France, as usual…

Lehmann 8 yo 'Elsass Whisky' (50%, OB, France, Alsace, single malt, Sauternes, +/-2023)

The 7 yo 'Origine' had been very good last time but this one's more 'premium'. It's fully aged in Sauternes barriques, so hit-or-miss, let's see… Colour: full gold. Nose: I think I enjoyed the 7 better, this has more mushrooms, sulphur (stone or powder), vegetal earth, stems and leaves… Let's see if water changes anything. With water: same. Leather, brake dust… Mouth (neat): better on the palate, but there are dissonances here and there. Leather and raisins, apricot liqueur, flints, a chalky side, blood oranges… With water: better yet, with more ripe plums beyond the raisins and the leather, but I believe it could have been more precise. Finish: medium, sweet, with raisins, dirty-ish earth and cherry stem tea. Comments: we saw last time that their distillate held up well, even in a white Bordeaux barrel (WF 85). But this time the Sauternes has rather stirred things up, if I may say so.
SGP:561 - 78 points.

Another try…

Lehmann 'Rendez-Vous' (40%, OB, France, Alsace, +/-2023)

Some lighter strength and some white Bordeaux again. Oh and some peat. Interestingly, 'Rendez-Vous' may mean either 'appointment' or 'surrender'. Hope it's surrender ;-). Colour: gold. Nose: fine, with a light smokiness, touches of coal, granny smith, greengages, mirabelles, a little hay, green pears… All good, nice fresh nose, it seems that these white Bordeaux casks are working very well. Mouth: very good! Peaches chiming in, plums, melon, a perfect light peat (really perfect), apples, a touch of honey, then grapefruits and a hint of coriander (seeds). Tiny touch of star anise and fennel. Finish: not even short despite the low strength, with a floral side. Ultra-clean and yet sweet honeyed aftertaste. Comments: one smart Alsatian. It's a change from our local politicians, ha.
SGP:551 - 86 points.

Galâad 'A la Table des Chefs' (47.1%, OB, France, Brittany, 1400 bottles, 2022)

A good idea that's been seen elsewhere with wine and spirits, asking chefs to select barrels. Have you ever seen what it's like when a group of thirty thirsty chefs are together, all half in the bag? I have. Having said that, the Galâad 'Origin' has been superb the other day. Colour: gold. Nose: round and sweet, on raisin rolls, vanilla fudge and caramel cream. Quite some white chocolate too, also williams pear liqueur and light acacia honey. Mouth: more of that feeling of williams pear liqueur, triple-sec too, some oak, with a faint oak-bitterness, then a lot of vanilla custard and white chocolate. Very creamy mouthfeel. Finish: rather ex-bourbon, with some mango jam now, vanilla, orange liqueurs and touches of coconut. Comments: seriously, it's a little 'too sweet and rich' for me but it's still top-notch French whisky. It's just that I had liked the slightly more pedestrian 'Origin' better. In short, it's me. No, it's excellent, well-done, chefs.
SGP:641 - 85 points.

Let's sail to the other side…

Thompson 'Manuka Smoke' (53.9%, OB, Kirsch Import, New Zealand, cask #141, 284 bottles)

Thomson 'Manuka Smoke' (53.9%, OB, Kirsch Import, New Zealand, cask #141, 284 bottles)

Well, it's ex-French Oak/Pinot Noir STR, so hold on tight. Now we had tried a 'Manuka Smoke Progress Report' and had thought it was excellent three or four years ago, so please let's not turn up our noses. Colour: deep gold. Nose: It's as if someone smoked sherry, added chunks of burnt tyre, ten litres of cold lapsang souchong, and a litre of smoked Chinese sauce in the style of hoisin but smoked. I also detect notes of rooibos and, coming from the pinot noir, and please excuse this very old but nevertheless authentic expression, 'smells of an old priest who doesn't take good care of himself'. Yes, I know, but we can't go against history. With water: juniper and clove. Mouth (neat): honestly, we've already tasted malts smoked with sheep and even elephant dung, so there's nothing left to risk (or so one thinks). It's still a bit odd, there's especially a tremendous amount of juniper notes at this stage. The pinot noir adds some notes of gamey hare. With water: it's like gin aged in a sweet wine cask. Finish: long, spicy, a tiny bit suffocating. Comments: crazy stuff. Not quite sure what to make of it, to be honest, but I say 'respect!'.
SGP:773 - 83 points.

Good, let's get serious…

Hellyers Road 19 yo 2003/2022 (62.7%, OB for HNWS Taiwan, Tasmania, ex-bourbon barrel, cask #3184.03, 120 bottles)

In theory… Colour: full gold. Nose: one, oneness, unicity. Hard to decompose. Crushed ripe bananas, peaches, guava, this is all and that's enough for us. With water: not much else, perhaps moist fresh orange cake. Mouth (neat): very-high-impact banana, jasmine, mango and passion fruit. With water: sameish, with a faint earthiness. Finish: long, more citrusy, simple, even simplistic. Comments: binary malt whisky. Extraordinary quasi-abstract drop, totally un-complex. Stuff by Terry Riley, not the G-Song having said that. Forget about all that, just stupid drivel.
SGP:751 - 91 points.

Be careful, there are whiskies that can take you far. Let's return to more factual matters, with a clear-line (or clear-cut) whisky from Japan.

Shizuoka 5 yo 2018/2023 'W-still' (55.6%, OB for Asta Morris, Japan, bourbon barrel, cask #734, 325 bottles)

Shizuoka 5 yo 2018/2023 'W-still' (55.6%, Asta Morris, Japan, bourbon barrel, cask #734, 325 bottles)

We may focus on aesthetics here. Because there's nothing aesthetic about, say, a Macallan NAS, is there? Colour: gold. Nose: pure sweet dough, mango, vine peach, civilised yeast. With water: no changes, it is unflappable, so to speak. Mouth (neat): it's even more binary than the Hellyers Road. Pristine peach custard and hochicha tea. With water: apricot pie. Finish: medium, more on pastry, beer, doughs, bananas… Comments: this is another whisky that is a whole, which makes it somewhat difficult, even presumptuous, to want to break down using successive descriptors. In any case, it's very, very beautiful, very simple, quite obvious. It also demonstrates the clear superiority of a simple two-bit bourbon barrel, and why all these wine casks that are flooding the whisky kingdom right now are just *******. Yeah, say unaesthetic.
SGP:641 - 91 points.