More Tamnavulin and more wine


August 29, 2025

WF’s Little Duos, more Tamnavulin and more wine

Several distilleries have made a speciality of releasing NAS (No Age Statement) versions enhanced with table wine, and Tamnavulin is one of them. We've already tasted quite a few, some of which were actually fairly decent. This time it's going to be grenache, though we can’t be sure it’ll be Rayas, now can we. Then we’ll go in search of a small independent...

(Grenache, Jules Troncy, public domain)

Tamnavulin ‘Red Wine Cask Edition – Spanish Grenache Cask Finish’ (40%, OB, +/-2022)

Ah alright, it is Spanish, so we should really say garnacha rather than grenache. One must be aware that grenache is a grape variety originally from Aragón, and certainly not from Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Amen. Colour: gold (not pink). Nose: not bad at all, not overly marked by red fruits, rather going towards very ripe peach. A little jasmine and potpourri here and there, otherwise it's malt and ale speaking. I quite like it so far – do note this is a bottle priced under 30 Euros. Mouth: more vinous on the palate and truth be told, it slightly recalls certain white Châteauneufs-du-Pape, with a somewhat weighty structure. Some notes of stewed blueberry and wild strawberry, with a muffin-like edge. Finish: not so short, malty and jammy. Comments: do keep in mind that grenache is not solely red, there are white and grey (rosé) variants as well. At any rate, I do quite like this well-assembled little Tamnavulin.
SGP:551 - 80 points.

Tamnavulin 13 yo 2011/2024 ‘Moscatel Port Pipe’ (51.2%, Cut Your Wolfe Lose, 470 bottles)

Finished for two years in this intriguing Moscatel Port Pipe. One cannot legally make Port from Moscatel alone, but there is the excellent ‘Moscatel do Douro’, and I imagine that’s what we’re dealing with here. Or perhaps it was Moscatel destined to be blended into white Port? Lovely artwork by ZombieSqueegee, a welcome change from all those invasive AI renderings, the sort that go ‘a whisky drinker riding a pink dolphin through a cloud-strewn sky, chased by angry apricots’. Well, you get the idea. Colour: pale gold. Nose: fresh and crunchy muscat grapes arrive alongside grapefruit and lemon zest, which balance things out rather smartly. The whole thing is faintly reminiscent of a very young Rosebank from back in the day, all lemon brightness with a bit of plum in the background. With water: lemon streusel. Mouth (neat): much fresher and tighter than malts finished in Moscatel from Andalucía, or so it seems to me. We’re finding citrus, greengages, and also a faint fizziness, almost like ginger tonic. With water: not much change, save for a little green tea joining the chorus. Finish: medium in length, slightly fermentary and acidic, which suits it well. Comments: I must say, this is a proper success. I’ll admit the word ‘Moscatel’ gave me pause.
SGP:651 - 84 points.

Check the index of all Tamnavulin we've tasted