The Port Charlotte Case, Part 7


February 28, 2025

The Port Charlotte Case, Part 7

We go on…

Port Charlotte 13 yo 2007/2020 (60.5%, The Whisky Baron, fresh Vosne-Romanée barrique, cask #003, 265 bottles)

I have immense respect for The Whisky Baron, but at the risk of repeating myself, Vosne-Romanée is in Burgundy, and in Burgundy, they don’t use ‘barriques’, but ‘pièces’. It seems this was a full maturation in the Burgundy cask, very much in the Bruichladdich style (see Dramfool/Jim’s cask of Vosne-Romanée-ed PC we tried a few days ago). Colour: red copper. That checks out. Nose: the Pinot Noir takes control immediately and probably won’t let go. Tons of cherries, with touches of almonds, kirsch, and glue. With water: black cherries infused in whisky. Mouth (neat): this is really good, it just doesn’t feel very ‘whisky’. Immensely vinous, but beautifully so. Cherry liqueur and, quite simply, young red Burgundy. Recognising it as Vosne-Romanée (let alone a grand cru…) would be a stretch though. With water: incredible how this wildly improbable mix works, though you do need to love cherries… Finish: same. Maraschino, rubber, kirsch, glue, oranges. Comments: it’s not exactly a Romanée-Conti of Islay, but I find it excellent—and almost feel guilty for that. Then again, I did study in Burgundy. I did indeed.
SGP:755 - 89 points.

Port Charlotte 14 yo 2004/2019 (53.4%, Dramfool, Feis Ile 2019, first fill sherry hogshead, 299 bottles)

Colour: dark amber. Nose: engine oil, fig leaves, Corinth raisins, blackberry jelly, potting soil, pipe tobacco, truffles, an old petrol lighter (GI’s Zippo) … This is quite a dominant sherry on the nose. With water: petrol and overripe oranges. Mouth (neat): a very surprising profile, with honey, Fanta, black truffle, rubber, raspberry jam, and fir honey. It’s almost thick. With water: even more rubber and orange-flavoured ginger tonic. All in all, there’s almost a touch of Aperol Spritz. Finish: fairly long, on an almost identical profile. Aftertaste of ginger, honey, salt, and rubber. Comments: amusing, this Glen Spritz. In any case, once again, the sherry kind of ‘eats’ the peat.
SGP:565 - 86 points.

Well, a young 2001…

Port Charlotte 10 yo 2001/2011 (57.8%, The Stillman’s, sherry hogshead, 317 bottles)

Here we are again with our dear Swiss neighbours. Delighted to taste a 10-year-old from 2001, to stay closer to the original distillate… unless the sherry is overwhelming, let’s see… Colour: amber. Nose: yes, it’s very sherry-driven, but still beautifully done, with notes of smoked walnuts, fresh concrete, freshly trimmed shrubs, and a hint of miso. With water: a few spent matches and a bouquet of peonies. Mouth (neat): powerful, on bitter oranges, intense honey, and almost black figs. Very concentrated but very good. With water: yes, forget the distillate, the cask was more hyperactive than Elon M. Finish: long and rich, on fig jam and manuka honey. Leather and tobacco in the aftertaste. Comments: once again, the wine has tamed the peat, it’s pretty crazy.
SGP:655 - 87 points.

Would it be a characteristic of Port Charlotte to be less ‘resistant’ to wines than its heavily peated counterparts?

Port Charlotte 20 yo 2003/2023 (56.5%, Islay Sponge ‘IV’, refill hogshead, 241 bottles)

Mr Sponge/Land’s PCs are particularly sharp, it must be said. Colour: light gold. Nose: right, we’re heading into acetic territory, with PX seco, bicycle patch glue, seawater, and above all, all sorts of shellfish. So, perhaps thanks to a well-behaved hogshead, the whole is far more maritime than most others, whether ex-bourbon, ex-wine, or ex-sherry. With water: south coast. Whatever that means. Mouth (neat): absolutely perfect, with sumptuous chillies alongside equally sumptuous citrus, the whole further enhanced by seawater and coal tar. With water: L*******n of the same age, no less. Nothing more to say. Finish: long, compact, magnificent. Smoked and candied lemons, then an aftertaste of peppered and salted honey. Comments: incredible density, almost abstract. But was all of this intentional? An ineffable whisky that restores faith in humanity—it was about time I tasted it.
SGP:655 - 91 points.

What people forget is that Bruichladdich was peated until the late 1950s, back when it was still owned by the DCL (pre-pre-Diageo). For example, we tasted a 1958 from Cadenhead that had an SGP of **5. In a way, one could almost say that Port Charlotte is the original Bruichladdich. Well, let’s forget this unnecessary digression and move on to the next and last one for today—but there will be more soon...

Port Charlotte 2004/2019 (51.6%, Malts of Scotland, bourbon barrel, cask #MoS19014, 267 bottles)

Malts of Scotland has already released dozens of 2001s and 2002s, all very good, but this is the first time we’re tasting a more recent vintage. Well, relatively speaking. Colour: gold. Nose: the wood is more present this time, with pencil shavings, carbon paper, and hints of wasabi and ginger, but we’re not in full-on Ikea mode. Lovely notes of slightly smoky marzipan, then clams and cockles, sea air, salsify, and a lightly tarry peat, almost discreet. With water: a briny side, like, we’re at a little fisherman’s harbour. Mouth (neat): quite saline on the palate, like a mix of mezcal and manzanilla, which, with two or three olives, would make a perfect ‘new-school’ martini, let’s be honest. Try it and tell me what you think. With water: even more maritime, with tinned sardines in lemon and salted anchovies making an appearance. Finish: long, lemony, peppery, and briny. Then ashes, though this is certainly not a peat bomb. Comments: frankly, I love all these contradictions. Another top PC.
SGP:566 - 89 points.

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