The Port Charlotte Case, Part 6


February 26, 2025

The Port Charlotte Case, Part 6

We simply carry on...

Port Charlotte 10 yo 2011/2021 (62.3%, Sansibar, bourbon, 235 bottles)

Here’s a lovely traditional label that exudes the spirit of the 1990s. Colour: chardonnay. Nose: the pleasure of ultimate simplicity, with lemon, green apple, mercurochrome, clay, a hint of smoked fish, then baker’s yeast and heaps of ashes. A little touch of yellow melon. And there you have it. With water: clay, almond milk and fresh bread, plus hints of fresh mint. Mouth (neat): oily, immensely powerful, of course, a sort of mix of 50% iodine tincture and 50% pure lemon juice. With water: even more lemony. Smoked grapefruit liqueur. Finish: long, with those lovely bitters that marry so well with lemon. Campari and limoncello, salute! Comments: the cask was rather active, it seems. Magnificent young PC.
SGP:656 - 88 points.

Port Charlotte 16 yo 2001/2017 (59.7%, Archives, barrel, cask #278, 212 bottles)

Here we have it again, the first vintage of PC. Colour: white wine. Nose: same general profile as the previous one, but fresher, more maritime, and rather more complex, with those lovely little herbs and tisanes in addition… Was 2001 the best vintage of Port Charlotte? Or was it simply a less active and more subtle cask? With water: that famous old Harris Tweed jacket that has seen many rains and storms, and once again, fresh bread. Mouth (neat): the creamy side returns, with plenty of smoked and mentholated citrus. Magnificent lemon and a very, very light touch of coconut. Not so inactive, that cask, after all. With water: we simply must mention limoncello once again. Finish: long, creamy, and utterly beautiful… and lemony. Comments: the peat has mellowed a little, and it’s truly lovely.
SGP:655 - 89 points.

Another 2001...

Port Charlotte 17 yo 2001/2018 (53.3%, Maltbarn, bourbon, 155 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: this one is a little more metallic, more marked by pine and cedar wood, along with oysters and a few touches of natural rubber. Aside from that, ripe apples and pink grapefruit, as well as plenty of limestone and clay. With water: a hint of vanilla emerges, along with raw wool and brioche dough. Mouth (neat): sauvignon blanc, citron, marshmallow, honey, chamomile, liquorice. Nothing to discard. With water: magnificent touches of salted liquorice, then a drop of violet liqueur, and finally a little bag of gummi bears. Finish: fairly long, very citrusy, with peat that tiptoes away. Comments: it seems this one has already digested part of its peat. Very, very, very charmingly different, in fact.
SGP:654 - 88 points.

Port Charlotte 12 yo 2003/2016 (60.4%, OB for Les Passionnés du Malt, fresh fill bourbon, cask #816, 241 bottles)

An official/private bottling for a very, very high-level French club. Colour: white wine. Nose: once again, great purity, rather mineral and medicinal (camphor and damp chalk) for the moment. With water: crystalline, salty, peaty, peppery, perfect in its style. Mouth (neat): classic, creamy, clearly peatier than the 2001 and 2002. Plenty of lemon, plasticine, small oysters and heaps of ashes. With water: it becomes softer and juicier. Little tart apples emerge, along with honey and white clover. Finish: long, with the arrival of a touch of cough syrup. Honey and fig spirit in the aftertaste. You almost wish you had a cough, really. Comments: frankly, this is excellent, bravo Bruichladdich and Les Passionnés (and apologies for the nine-year delay).
SGP:656 - 89 points.

Port Charlotte 16 yo 2005/2022 (54.6%, Rest & Be Thankful, ex-wine hogshead, cask #1577, 272 bottles)

All is well in the best of all possible worlds (yeah right), but could we at least know what kind of wine it was, while we’re at it? And perhaps whether it was European oak? Colour: gold. Nose: there’s clearly an additional coating that can only come from the wine, but which wine exactly? Lovely notes of panettone, raisin rolls, maple syrup, sultanas, and candied orange zest… All very nice, but in return, the peat becomes rather discreet. With water: fresh barley and a touch of hay smoke, still with gentle citrus. And panettone! Mouth (neat): all kinds of citrus liqueurs, white chocolate (yep), toasted sesame and pistachios, then a sensation of lemon nougat. There’s almost a hint of cognac. With water: an avalanche of pistachios and orange marshmallows. Finish: fairly long, on similar notes. Comments: did the wine eat the peat? That said, it’s very good, no doubt about it. So, which wine was it?
SGP:654 - 87 points.

Check the index of all Port Charlotte we've tasted so far