Little Duos, today Auchentoshan


February 29, 2024

WF's Little Duos, today Auchentoshan

As usual, apéritif then older glory.

(Montrachet D.R.C. 2020, 10,000 to 13,000€ a bottle but in general, free shipping!)

Auchentoshan 12 yo 'Delicate and Layered' (40%, OB, +/-2023)

We've tried a slightly earlier expression one year ago but since we've got this newer batch too, why not have it. It's funny that more and more distillers would add descriptions right to the names of their bottlings, such as 'Delicate and Layered'. Cousins Bowmore do the same, with for example the 10 yo 'Dark and Intense'. Hope we'll soon stumble upon a Glen Garioch 12 yo 'Fast and Furious', after all they bottle that one at 48%. But back to this little Auchentoshan… Colour: gold. Nose: a little dry sherry and a little sour wood at first, plus pencil shavings and green walnuts. That's a very pleasant combination. Peaches and pears chiming in then, whiffs of aspirin tablets and plaster, bread, orange blossom water… I think this is pretty nice, rather layered indeed, and good news, not that 'delicate'. Mouth: some oak feels, some sawdust, some slightly oversteeped tea, cinnamon, apple peel… But lemons and green apples are adding the much-needed fruitiness. Finish: medium, with some sawdust for sure, but once again citrus and apples do balance it. Comments: I have the feeling that they've made good progress. It's still a little oak-driven but much less so that most of their NAS expressions.
SGP:551 - 84 points.

A much older one please… There's this new Sponge that, I believe, came out in December, for example…

Auchentoshan 31 yo 1991/2023 (53.6%, Whisky Sponge, 2nd fill barrel, 179 bottles)

We've tried quite few 1991s already but all but one were much younger. Old age may have made it creamier and more on jams and crystallised tropical fruits, but on the other hand, this was a 2nd fill barrel, so rather a lot of freshness could have remained within the spirit. In other words, time rather than wood. Colour: light gold/chardonnay. Nose: chardonnay! Only half-joking mind you. Surely some 'white soil' as they have in Champagne or in Jerez, both very chalky, then many herbs, leaves, peelings and grasses, with something reminding me of high-end cachaças. A funny olive oil + aniseed tango, and again some fresh chalky Chardonnay (in refill American oak, ha). With water: awesome damp chalk, marl, and crushed slate. Just a little menthol. Mouth (neat): it really is an Auchentoshan that went beyond mangos and that became very complex, even if there is a feeling of oneness, like in a great white Bourgogne or even a proper Champagne blanc de blancs, both very floral. Is there a way of adding bubbles? With water: vine peaches, yellow peaches and white peaches in utter abundance. Finish: mirabelles and once again a mineral, chalky, slightly salty touch. But remember we ought to use the word 'salinity' rather than 'salt'. Comments: awesome Auchentoshan-Montrachet by the Sponge. Bizarrely, 1991 was not such a great vintage in Burgundy – but apparently, it was in the Lowlands.
SGP:662 - 91 points.

Check the index of all Auchentoshan we've tasted so far