A few whiskies from France


September 17, 2026

A few whiskies from France

This is a ‘solera’ session, in other words, a session to which we add whiskies as we go along, so they are not all tasted at the same time, lined up in front of the taster as if on parade, which is the method we use in 95% of cases.

I’ll take this opportunity to point out that our distilling friends in France, when translating the word ‘finish’ or ‘finishing’, use two quite distinct terms: affinage or finition, and sometimes its maybe a little less flattering variant finissage. We shall have to ask the highly distinguished Fédération du Whisky de France and its dashing president what the official position is on the matter.

Laferté ‘Tourbé’ (41%, OB, France, blended malt, +/-2024)

A blend of malt whiskies from various French origins, matured in a wide variety of cask types. The bottle is very pretty. This is our first time trying Laferté. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: this is lovely, rather like ash-dusted bread sprinkled with cider and orange juice, with a few drops of Verveine du Velay and some very gentle vanilla. As for the peat, let’s just say Ardbeg needn’t call an emergency meeting. Mouth: fresh, light, with smoked almonds and bitter orange, the whole thing rather whispering away. Then cereals and yeast. A little green peat. Finish: not very long, but fresh and well balanced. The verbena returns in the aftertaste. Comments: nothing to complain about, this is very well put together. Rather refreshing too.
SGP:453 - 82 points.

Artésia ‘Classique’ (45%, OB, +/-2025)

We’ve already tasted some very good limited versions of this single malt from northern France, but never this standard expression. We always do everything backwards at WF. Colour: white wine. Nose: let’s say it’s moderately expressive, mostly on apple and gooseberry. A little lemon and plenty of youth, signalled by pear and a touch of pharmacy alcohol. Mouth: not bad at all, with lemon, apple and a surprising pineapple, over a little fresh oak. Very slight saponification, even without adding water. Finish: not very long but lovely, still with that surprising lemon-and-pineapple duo. Comments: nothing to add.
SGP:451 - 80 points.

Northmaen 3 yo ‘Thor Boyo’ (42%, OB, +/-2023)

Here we are in Normandy, although it would appear that red Bordeaux casks were used. In theory, the colour should tell us whether Bordeaux has left its fingerprints at the scene. Thor Boyo is a pun on ‘Tord-Boyaux’, which means more or less… rotgut. Hmm, humour at last! Colour: gold, not pink. Bordeaux pleads not guilty. Nose: raspberry eau-de-vie, aged in wood and topped up with a few geranium and cherry blossoms. Ah, Bordeaux may need a better lawyer after all. Mouth: halfway between red berry liqueurs and eaux-de-vie made from those same red berries, especially cherry. Guignolet and kirsch. Some barley emerges in the background. Finish: not very long, a little maltier. ‘Kriek’ beer. Comments: a genuinely humorous malt, how could anyone be against that? But we’re quite a long way from their superb ‘Cuvée 1110’ (WF 87).
SGP:640 - 78 points.

Naguelann 2022/2025 ‘Start’ (51.02%, OB for Malt in France)

Here we are in Brittany, the historic birthplace of French whisky. Colour: white wine. Nose: not hugely expressive, but pure, cereals and orchard fruits, with a little earthiness. With water: Weissbier and greengages. Mouth (neat): very lively, very much on green apple and kiwi. This is lovely and much more expressive than on the nose. With water: now excellent, rooty, peppery and lemony. A touch of genepy. Finish: same, long, fresh, on gentian, fresh turmeric and lime. Caraway and fennel seeds in the aftertaste. Comments: it all happens on the palate!
SGP:561 - 85 points.

Moon Harbour ‘Dock 2’ (45.8%, OB, +/-2024)

This is 100% malted maize, so grain whisky, matured in a Château Rieussec cask, perhaps the best value for money in Sauternes. And we’re in Bordeaux. Colour: gold. Nose: yeast, apricot, wet earth, honey, pencil shavings. Let’s say it’s rather unusual… Mouth: not easy, very different from anything you might taste elsewhere, with bruised bananas, tapioca, balsa wood… Not too sure about all this, but it’s fun. Finish: not very long, on Fanta, cinnamon and apricot again. Comments: let’s say it may divide opinion… There are some good sides!
SGP:441 - 75 points.

Let’s head back to Brittany…

Eddu ‘Héritage’ (40%, OB, Distillerie des Menhirs, affinage en pommeau de Bretagne, 2,300 bottles, 2026)

Buckwheat whisky as usual, here finished in Pommeau de Bretagne casks, another speciality of the Distillerie des Menhirs. It is apple must fortified with cider brandy, let’s say it’s the equivalent of Pineau in Cognac or Ratafia in Champagne. Or Floc de Gascogne. This baby celebrates the distillery’s 40th anniversary. Colour: gold. Nose: we could call this a ‘self-finish’, just as there are ‘self-blends’. Apple steals the show, but just as Jacques Chirac used to, we love apples. He even won some election because of that, true! The whisky itself may not have much to say for the moment, but that could be down to the surprisingly low strength. Mouth: proper applesky! The worst part is that it works perfectly, perhaps because buckwheat whisky is itself very fruity and can sometimes veer towards… apple. Finish: not very long but totally dominated by apple, which, we repeat, we love. But toasted buckwheat reappears in the aftertaste, how funny. Or perhaps a Breton galette. Comments: between us, this rather reminds us of Rochelt’s Gravenstein. Very nicely done!
SGP:740 - 87 points.

Eddu 10 yo ‘Brocéliande’ (48%, OB, for LMDW Anthologie, 288 bottles, 2026)

This teenager was finished in new Breton oak from the forest of Brocéliande, a thoroughly legendary and esoteric place ruled by druids and tourists. We prefer the druids. Colour: gold. Nose: a proper short film on fast-forward, buckwheat, then oranges, then ripe apples, then service berries, then waxed cardboard, then linseed oil, then fresh salsify, then caraway… It never stops moving. Mouth: excellent, spicy, earthy, peppery just as it should be (the Brocéliande effect, we suppose), unfolding towards resins and little green berries, then citrus zest. Finish: long, with some very exquisite spices and green saps. Comments: on paper, this whole Brocéliande business sounds a little too neatly scripted, but in the glass, it works perfectly. I told you, the druids… Or the fairy Mélusine? We could almost swear there was also mistletoe in there.
SGP:561 - 88 points.

Domaine des Hautes-Glaces ‘Epistémé Single Track B19F26 Amphora’ (47.9%, OB, 572 bottles, 2026)

Just imagine, this baby was finished in amphora, and we’ve been dreaming for ages of whiskies matured, or at least finished, in terracotta, in stoneware as some eaux-de-vie are, in porcelain, or even simply in ‘breathable’ glass. Yes, we do have hobbies. Incidentally, we’ve been tasting quite a few old wines matured in amphorae lately, and I can tell you that after twenty years, they’ve become splendid. Anyway… Colour: pale white wine. See? We were right to have hobbies. Nose: it’s the precision that strikes you here. Apples and clays. Lots of different apples and lots of different clays. Then countless little berries, flowers and spices, almost impossible to pick out individually, the whole thing eventually converging on citron, king of the citrus fruits. Mouth: roots, citrus fruits and earths. Finish: same. Oh, and citron. Comments: the true love-it-or-hate-it whisky isn’t Laphroaig, it’s DHG. I chose my side a long time ago.
SGP:561 - 90 points.

Domaine des Hautes-Glaces ‘Epistémé Single Track B19F26 Macvin’ (47.2%, OB, 540 bottles, 2026)

Why make things simple when you can make them complicated? Here’s a version finished in a Macvin cask, a Jura (not Isle of Jura) speciality with an improbably Scottish-sounding name indeed, the equivalent of Pineau des Charentes or… Pommeau de Normandie or de Bretagne. In short, must and eau-de-vie. So, you add eau-de-vie, and then later you add whisky. Why not fortify it directly with whisky? Well, you’d lose the Macvin appellation, I suppose (I hope they hanged whoever chose that name from the highest tree in Arbois) … Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s not so different from the amphora, but it’s less distinctive, fruitier, and probably more commercial (the horror!) Joking aside, this is rather gorgeous, with superb musts in full fermentation, which is precisely what the Macvin process would have interrupted. I think we’re tying our brains in knots here… Mouth: the amphora is superior, less vulgar (this isn’t vulgar at all, but the amphora is even less so, well, you see what I mean). There are still rather a lot of raisins here. Finish: amphora all the way. Comments: amphora all the way.
SGP:651 - 83 points.

One last one. More French whiskies will probably follow after Whisky Live Paris later this month…

Alpenglow 2015/2024 (55.3%, LMDW Version Française, Foundations, PX finish, 291 bottles)

PX is always a little frightening, isn’t it? In fact, the journey here was oloroso, then Pineau des Charentes, then PX. Quite some cooking, let’s hope the original distillate still has something to say (even if we trust LMDW completely) … Colour: reddish amber. Nose: volcanic soils, ceps, truffles, varnishes, a pronounced terpenic side, bitter chocolate, Pu-erh tea… Some sorcery seems to be at work here. With water: and cigars and old Gouda! Mouth (neat): biting, bitter, acrid, very resinous, and yet it works. Almost like a very old VORS that’s gone completely dry. With water: we’re drifting towards some very old Ténarèze that’s completely off-market. The oak is so extreme that it almost becomes soft and light through sheer saturation. Finish: long, essentially on walnut husk and salted bitter chocolate. Comments: I don’t know whether this concoction is legal, but it’s certainly spectacular. And very Jerezian.
SGP:262 - 85 points.

(Merci, Franco!)

Check the index of all French whiskies we've tasted