Johnnie Walker Black Label,
USA, 1989. Not too sure
going 'back' to JWB would really
mean good fortune in 2009 to us
single malt guzzlers, but we've
certainly had quite a few single
malts that weren't as drinkable
as this popular blend in recent
years.
By
the way, here's our own exclusive
fortune cookie for 2009. Please
just click on it!...
TASTING
– TWO RECENT BOWMORES
Bowmore
13 yo 1995/2008 (56.4%, The Single
Malts of Scotland, sherry butt, cask
#419, 627 bottles)
Colour: deep amber. Nose: starts as
animal as a fairly young sherried
Bowmore can get. Hare’s belly
(readers keep asking us if we mean
Halle Berry and we keep answering
no!), old leather, pipe tobacco, strong
liquorice, then new leather (very
vivid), dried kelp, seashells, raw
chocolate, cigar box, freshly ground
pepper (huge) and dried mushrooms
(boletus). Wonderfully organic, lovers
of the genre will adore this one.
With water (‘though water may
not be needed): more leather and more
game. Mouth (neat): extremely thick,
rich, creamy, almost ‘screamingly’
concentrated. Heavy peat and heavy
sherry, which creates a huge ‘sweet
spiciness’. Gingerbread, crystallised
oranges, tangerine liqueur, honey
and pepper liqueur (it’s called
Slavyanskaya in Russia), cardamom
again, baklavas… How rich! With
water: it got even spicier and drier,
and more orangey at the same time.
Strictly no offbeat notes and no sulphur/rubber,
which isn’t too frequent with
heavily sherried peaty whiskies. Finish:
very long, orangey and leathery, with
quite some salt now (more salt when
naked, less when reduced). Comments:
for lovers of strong sensations. I’d
love to try this after twenty years
of bottle ageing. SGP:467
- 90 points.
Bowmore
16 yo 1991/2008 (59.3%, Wilson &
Morgan Barrel Selection, Port finish,
casks #15058/15059)
Colour: gold. Nose: punchy, really
candied, as if the peat was encapsulated
in bitter oranges and ginger. Loads
of caraway as well. No strawberries
or blackcurrants so far. With water:
here come the flowers (peonies, lilies)
and Bowmore’s classic ‘coastal
peatiness’. Still no straight
winey fruitiness and that’s
good news. Certainly not first fill
Port! Much, much nicer with water.
Mouth (neat): hot and pungent, but
the profile is very nice. Peat, pepper
and Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit bubblegum.
Water is obligatory. With water: almost
classic Bowmore now, with notes of
violet sweets that may come either
from the spirit or from the Port.
Or from both. Blackberry jam, mild
peat and soft spices. Finish: long,
on pepper and Juicy Fruit again. Comments:
good finished Bowmore (which means
a lightly finished Bowmore ;-)) SGP:546
- 82 points.
A
PIECE OF NEWS THAT, TO OUR KNOWLEDGE,
WENT UNNOTICED IN WHISKYBLOGISTAN
IN 2008
It was in The Telegraph on July
18, 2008. Jack Priestly, a gentleman
from Pinchbeck, Lincolnshire, celebrated
his 100th birthday while claiming
that ‘Since his first puff
in 1917 he has smoked 153,000 cigars
and 715,400 cigarettes and drunk
a shot of whisky in his morning
cup of tea every day since the age
of 24.’ His mother-in-law
got him hooked on whisky.
"She said the best thing for
a woman is for her to drink whisky
before she does anything, every day,"
he said. "I don't feel my age.
I've still the mind of a young man.
But if I had the company of a good
woman, I'm sure I'd feel 40 years
younger in a flash."
Now, we notice from the picture that
the cigar (Cohiba?) is barely lit
and that the bottle is unopened…
GOOD
LAUGH on eBay Italy.
Painful
price indeed...
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: that's right, we had
a lot of easy-easy music on WF in
the past month, so time for a change...
Why not Brazil's very excellent
Arrigo
Barnabé doing
his Clara
Crocodilo.mp3 (the Brazilian
Frank Zappa? Or maybe the Brazilian
Captain Beefheart? Both? Ornette?)
Anyway, please buy his music.
December
30, 2008
PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK
TASTING
– FIVE VERY YOUNG CAOL ILAS
Caol
Ila 9 yo 1989/1998 (46%, Murray McDavid,
Italy, cask #18/12)
Murray McDavid were using different
labels for Italy at the time. There
was also an excellent old Macallan.
Colour: white wine. Nose: a hugely
buttery and kind of vegetal Caol Ila,
with big notes of apple peels, white
truffles, petrol, Swiss cheese, cut
leaves (newly pruned privet) and metal
and not much peat. Very unusual and
probably flawed from a blender’s
point of view, but most pleasant and
interesting from an amateur’s.
Mouth: wonderfully almondy and salty
at the same time. The cheese is back
as well (Comté, Edam), cold
apple pie, kippers, walnuts…
Gets then peatier and more candied
(lemon pie). Very good, with some
aspects remind us of ‘old’
Caol Ila (pre-1970s). Finish: medium
long, still on apple and lemon pies.
Peated marzipan (?) Comments: very,
very good at just 9 years of age,
but the nose may bother some drinkers
– and really satisfy others.
SGP:355 - 88 points.
Caol
Ila 8yo 1998 (56.4%, Exclusive Malts,
cask #8350, 329 bottles)
From an ‘European cask’.
Colour: straw. Nose: this is a much
flintier version of Caol Ila, with
a little more vanilla as well. Seawater,
green apples, fresh almonds and fresh
mint. ‘Pleasant’ plastic
(brand new tennis shoes). Not a peat
monster either. With water: gets much
more organic, vegetal and even a little
resinous. Fern, moss, pine needles,
then ‘a bag of langoustines’,
oysters… Caol Ila spends very
little time on Islay (usually a few
days) but this ‘coastalness’
is truly amazing. Mouth (neat): classic,
excellent young Caol Ila. Fresh almonds,
oysters (salt), fresh butter, crystallised
lemons and just a little mint and
liquorice. Simply very good. With
water: more of the same, only rounder.
Finish: long, clean and even saltier.
Comments: sharp, straighforward, crystal-clear
(and clean) young salty Caol Ila.
A prototype. SGP:346 - 86
points.
Caol
Ila 1996/2007 (56.8%, Berry Bros &
Rudd, cask #12241)
Colour: white wine. Nose: one of these
ultra-clean sharp zingy Caol Ilas,
close to peated grappa in a certain
way (well). Big notes of plum spirit,
lemon liqueur and liquorice wood,
then fresh almonds and fresh putty.
With water: more butter, more yeast
and even more kern fruits spirit (plums,
kirsch, sloe gin.) Then tons of cut
grass. Mouth (neat): very good, compact,
salty, almondy and lemony. Gooseberries.
Simple but pretty perfect. With water:
same, only saltier. Finish: long and
even saltier. A lot of salt playing
with your lips! Comments: there are
many excellent young Caol Ilas available,
this one is undoubtedly one of them.
Saltier than others. SGP:346
- 85 points.
Cl1
(62.9%, Speciality Drinks, Elements
of Islay, 2008)
Colour: white wine. Nose: another
ultra-clean, zesty, zingy young Caol
Ila. A tad less fruity than the 1996
by BBR and a tad grassier and more
phenolic (wet wool as well). Whiffs
of diesel oil and antiseptic that
reminds us more of Islay’s south
shore. Baker’s yeast. With water:
superbly mid-round, mid-wild. Hazelnut
liqueur, shortbread… Wait, does
peated Bailey’s exist? Did anybody
already try to prepare an Alexandra
(Alexander?) cocktail using a CS Islayer?
Mouth (neat): what’s quite incredible
is that one can sip this even at cask
strength. It’s not even too
hot, rather round (sort of), all on
crystallised fruits and smoked, salted
fish plus black pepper and horseradish
(or wasabi). Sure it’s a little
‘bang’ but again, water
isn’t obligatory. Yet, with
water: once again, it’s a little
‘southshore-ish’. Rather
huge notes of cinnamon cookies and
cooked apples, the peat and the pepper
remaining in the background a bit
now. Finish: long, rather smoother
and sweeter than expected. Apple liqueur
again, salt, cough syrup and Haribo
gummy bears (only hints, huh!) Comments:
another very good young Caol Ila (quite
complex considering its ‘possible’
young age, that is – maybe they
threw an older cask into the vatting?)
SGP:446 – 88 points.
Caol
Ila 8 yo 'Unpeated' (64.9%, OB, bottled
2007)
A virtually unpeated version of Caol
Ila, also known as ‘Highland
Caol Ila’ in the whisky trade.
There had been a version in 2006 that
was very good (83). Colour: white
wine. Nose: extremely spirity. Apple
peeling, fresh almonds, kirsch and
paint thinner. Extremely aggressive
but that’s the alcohol, no doubt.
With water: exceptionally clean, fruity
and straightforward. Apple liqueur
with a little ginger powder and hints
of cumin. Mouth (neat): extremely
fruity and sweet (fructose), all on
very big notes of lemon drops. No
noticeable peat indeed. With water:
sweet clean and uberfruity. Fresh
pineapples and grapefruits plus grated
ginger and just hints of coconut.
Finish: medium long, clean, fruity,
mildly spicy. ‘Maybe’
a little peat in the aftertaste. Comments:
very good spirit no doubt but I’ll
repeat what I wrote when I tried the
2006 version: ‘I hope we’ll
be able to taste a much older ‘Unpeated
Style’ Caol Ila one day.’
Yeah, I know, self-quoting is a sign
of nascent senility. SGP:621
- 82 points.
CRAZY
WHISKY AD: THE
AMBASSADOR'S PARTY
Left, Ambassador 8 years old,
1975.'The Ambassador.
Among friends for the Holidays. Ambassador,
Representing Scotch at its lightest.'
Right: Ferrero Rocher
commercial.
Who started it first?
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Arthur Higelin aka Arthur
H, son of the grand
Jacques, does his hit Dancing
with Madonna.mp3. Would she
consent to that? Please buy Arthur
H's music.
December
29, 2008
SPECIAL HOLIDAY WHISKYFUN
REVIEW BARGAIN
BONUS
by Nick Morgan
NICK
CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS
The
Troxy, London November
29th 2008
This
could be as far east as we’ve
ever been for a gig, in this lavishly-converted
1930’s theatre of dreams for
the slum-dwelling stevedores and
dock labourers of the East End.
It was rescued from bingo-hall dereliction
a few years ago, but already looks
a bad bet as its raison d’être
is servicing the needs of corporate
clients in nearby Canary Wharf –
you know, the ones who’ve
spent most of the holidays jumping
from high windows at the thought
of sending their third four-wheel
drive back to the showroom. And
frankly it’s not best fitted
out for gigs – a carpeted
mosh? Too few lavatories, a rather
overcrowded and eventually unnerving
exit, too many stewards not quite
knowing what to do, and an inability
to drop the house lights to an acceptable
level. But thankfully the sound
is pretty good, and Mr
Cave and his Bad Seeds
are on fire.
If
this year’s Hammersmith
gig, the first outing of the new
recession-proofed stripped-down Grinderman-inspired
Bad Seeds sound that defines Dig Lazarus
Dig was good, then this was even better.
From opener ‘Hold on to yourself’
to the final encore ‘Stagger
Lee’ it’s a relentless
progression of uncompromising rock
and roll of the highest order. And
it’s very loud, not least due
to the indefatigable fiddling and
tinkering of Warren Ellis –
“just how it’s supposed
to be”, say one of our youthful
companions. Not everything’s
in full working shape – ‘Nature
Boy’, sounding now as if it
belongs to West Hampstead’s
Railway Tavern back in 1975, is still
“a work in progress”,
and there’s little that isn’t
given the treatment – including
old songs like ‘Hard on for
love’. But of course Mr Cave
can still disarm everyone by dropping
a wickedly funny ballad like ‘God
is in the house’ into the middle
of such a maelstrom. A 9+ gig if ever
there was one. - Nick Morgan (photograph
by Kate)
A
TRIBUTE TO SANDY DENNY
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, December
1st 2008
It
looks as ‘though the late Sandy
Denny might eventually
be about to get some of the recognition
that she deserves, but somehow this
retrospective evening doesn’t
quite satisfy. There’s grumbling
from the greybeards behind us, who
were expecting a line-up of the great
and the good, most of whom haven’t
shown up. Instead we’ve got
an array of young and largely impressive
British talent, such as Mary Epworth,
Jim
Moray, Christina Donaghue and
Johnny
Flynn. The house band was made
up of various members of Bellowhead,
and Jerry Donaghue, who has just produced
a very well-received album from the
‘lost’ tapes of Denny’s
band Fotheringay. Dave Swarbrick nearly
stole the show, and a painfully theatrical
Marc Almond, with Baby
Dee on harp and piano, didn’t.
But at the end of it all there was
something unsatisfactory here –
Denny, with her complex songs and
even more complex life, is an enigma
that the evening did little to unravel.-
Nick Morgan (photograph by Kate)
JOSH
ROUSE
Union Chapel, Islington, London, December
3rd 2008
Post
fish and chips it’s off to a
very full and Christmasified Union
Chapel for an almost solo Josh
Rouse, who has a retrospective
collection on the market for Christmas.
Just slightly overweight, he looks
like a junior professor at an American
college – English Literature
I would guess, probably specialising
in Thomas Hardy. Never mind. He apparently
doesn’t like being described
as a ‘blue eyed soul singer’,
but that’s what he is, and he
does it very, very, well.
There
are a few new songs, all inspired
by his current sojourn in Valencia,
but otherwise it’s ‘hit’
after ‘hit’, and the audience
go really crazy, which is a little
bemusing because it’s good,
but not that good.- Nick Morgan
(photograph by Kate)
TRACY
CHAPMAN
Hammersmith Apollo,
London, December 15th 2008
There
are few artists who can begin an almost-two-hour
set with a brutally frank song about
domestic violence (‘Last night
I heard the screaming’) and
manage to keep the attention of their
audience, because believe me it didn’t
get much happier than this. But the
disarmingly self-effacing Ms
Chapman somehow managed
it, playing solo on guitars, and chatting
at length in a fairly autobiographical
fashion between songs. The singing
was wonderful, the guitar effective,
the songs mostly engaging and sadly
pessimistic. But the weird thing was
the audience – it was as though
they’d been shipped in from
a recording of a Bruce Forsyth TV
Special, and yet Chapman’s material
is hardly the stuff of which variety
shows are made. “They’re
all American” opined the Photographer,
but I wasn’t so sure. -
Nick Morgan
A
THOMPSON FAMILY CHRISTMAS
Queen Elizabeth Hall,
London, December 17th 2008
This
show was put together and compered
by Teddy
Thompson as a benefit
for Amnesty International, and was
notable as it brought Teddy, sister
Kami
(she’s had an unfortunate Martha
Wainwright makeover) and mum and dad
Richard
and Linda
Thompson on stage together, a very
rare sight indeed. Linda (whose only
solo singing was from behind a curtain)
and Teddy seemed to get very emotional
about this, Kami was too busy doing
her Martha stuff, and dad seemed to
be suffering from mild jet lag. “Here’s
a song I wrote on the plane on the
way over” – it was called
‘The wrong presents’ –
“I hope it’s ok. It sounded
alright in my head”. They’re
joined by a variety of luminaries
who work their way through a variety
of mostly seasonal songs. “I
don’t know any Christmas songs”
said an out-of-sorts Bert Jansch,
who had earlier played ‘Anji’
as a tribute to Davy Graham whose
death was announced the day before
the gig. Glaswegian Brendan Campbell
also struggled with his version of
‘Good King Wenceslas’,
which was a shame as he was a most
engaging singer and guitarist.
Behind
all the soloists was that house band
to beat all house bands, led by Kate
St John, and featuring Roger Eno
on keyboards and David Coulter on
guitars, mandolin and saw. Rachel
Unthank and the Winterset sang a seasonal
song from the North East of England
which I’m sure was called ‘The
Hexham shaggers’, whilst New
York’s very camp Justin Bond
sang a timely song called ‘The
new depression’. The portly
Chris Difford turned up with a song
decrying seasonal excess – I
think it might have been his Christmas
single ‘Let’s not fight
this Christmas’, whilst Teddy
floated in and out with various performers
(including Jenni Muldaur) and sang
beautifully. Nor should I forget to
mention human beatboxer Shlomo, whose
medley of Christmas carols was to
say the least surprising, and wonderfully
joyful. Yes – it was a very
pleasant evening.
Oh
yes – and there’s a special
Christmas
song by Teddy & Co which you
can download from you-know-where and
make a donation to Amnesty –
so if you still have any of that seasonal
goodwill about you, you should go
and have a look.- Nick Morgan
(photograph by Kate)
THE
BLOCKHEADS
Shepherds Bush Empire, London,
December 21st 2008
Well
it’s almost Christmas isn’t
it – and it’s the last
gig of a busy year, so why not indulge
in a pure piece of seventies nostalgia?
Not that the
Blockheads would have
it that way – almost half the
songs they play are either from their
last album ‘Where’s the
party’, or their forthcoming
‘Looking down a barrel’.
There’s not much to say about
these tireless troubadours that you
haven’t already heard. But I
would say that from my vantage point
I was astonished at the complexity
of Johnny Turnbull’s guitar
parts (and the ease with which he
performed them, as he hadn’t
looked entirely on top form in the
Thai restaurant before the gig), and
of course Norman Watt Roy’s
bass playing – every song a
solo. A perfectly satisfying way to
end a year.- Nick Morgan (photograph
by Kate)
Tomatin
22 yo 1962/1984 (46%, Cadenhead, black
dumpy)
Colour: gold. Nose: typical old Tomatin,
very fruity and rather light in style,
even if this one does display these
old Cadenheads’ house-style
(but do IB display house styles? There’s
an interesting debate on that very
topic over at John Hansell’s
excellent blog). Something slightly
metallic and sooty, even just a tad
soapy but it’s not the unpleasant
kind of soapiness. Other than that
there are notes green bananas and
hints of grapefruits. Very nice nose
but not quite one of these wham-bam
fruity Tomatins. After fifteen minutes:
more apples and fresh almonds. Mouth:
old style, expressive but maybe lacking
smoothness and fruitiness, at least
considering it’s an old Tomatin.
Apple peel, cinnamon, tea, marzipan
and then a rather big saltiness, totally
unexpected. Gets then also a little
bitterish. Finish: medium long, a
little fruitier but also more tannic
and peppery. And always quite some
salt. Comments: very good but not
easy at all, maybe a tad ‘intellectual’.
Oh well… SGP:371 –
85 points.
Tomatin
1967/2008 (49.3%, OB, Germany, refill
butt, cask #17904, 463 bottles)
This has just been bottled in November,
for the German market only. Ausgezeichnet!
Colour: pale gold. Nose: a little
more presence than in the old Cadenhead’s
but oddly enough, this one smells
younger despite its 40 years of age.
It’s still a rather discreet
old Tomatin, with a little banana,
gooseberries, something perfumy (roses,
fragrant apples) and hints of aniseed
(that grow then bigger and bigger).
Dill, plum eau de vie, whiffs of fresh
‘green’ oak… And
celery, lots of it. This one needs
time, it’s all rather subtle.
Mouth: we are not too far from the
old Cadenhead here, but there’s
even more oak, more tannins and more
‘greenness’. Walnut skin,
grapefruit, a little ginger, hints
of white peaches and then more spices.
This one has got a lot of green oak
(which isn’t as drying as, err,
old drying oak.) Having said that,
it’s not plankish. Finish: long
and maybe better balanced and smoother,
with enough fruits at this point to
counterbalance the oakiness (bananas).
Quite peppery as well and a little
prickly and perfumy (cologne). Comments:
another one that isn’t too easy,
or maybe a tad too difficult for my
tastes. But it’s certainly good
old venerable malt whisky! SGP:471-
82 points.
December
27, 2008
TASTING
TWO
RECENT ROSEBANKS
Rosebank
1990/2008 (46%, Berry Bros & Rudd,
cask #605)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: pretty nice,
pleasantly lemony as expected but
getting also a tad ‘chemical’
(faint hints of glue, burnt plastic).
Cut apples and strawberries, ginger
tonic, cloves… A bit difficult
I think, and a tad soapy as well.
I like a little austerity in Rosebank
but this is very austere I think.
Mouth: rather pleasant attack but
the whole gets rather bitter, with
unusual notes of juniper (genever),
ginger tonic again, even salsify…
And a little soap again (just a little).
Kind of wonky if I may say so, but
surely drinkable. Finish: medium long,
a tad bitterish. Comments: I think
this is a Rosebank that’s pretty
shippable but not quite in the same
very high league as most of BBR’s
usual bottlings. Only my opinion of
course! SGP:261 – 77
points.
Rosebank
16yo 1991/2008 (55.2%, The Single
Malts of Scotland, cask #402, 249
bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: well, this
is the opposite of the 1990. It’s
maybe quite as austere as the latter
but the general profile is much cleaner,
yet complex and rich, ranging from
superb mineral notes to lemon and
orange marmalades. Notes of lemon
balm, fresh ginger, cardamom. Back
to lemon after that (fresh juice).
Great Rosebank that reminds me of
some much older bottlings on the nose
(the old official 20 CS for example).
Mouth: creamy, zesty, superbly lemony
and spicy. Unusual spices that is,
with quite some cardamom again, fresh
pepper, even something that may taste
like truffles (or maybe not…),
ginger and lemon marmalade…
It’s a tad richer than a ‘usual’
Rosebank in fact. Finish: very long,
very lemony and very spicy, remaining
very warming. Comments: oops, even
forgot to add water. A great Rosebank,
rich, powerful and balanced, that
reminds us that Lowlanders and Campbeltowners
were sometimes considered as displaying
the same profiles. Indeed, this one
reminds me a bit of Springbank. Almost
made it to 90. SGP:551 –
89 points.
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: it's got something funky-poppish-psychedelic
and it's full of samples, but the
main reason why we're posting about
this is the band's name: Linkwood
family! The tune is
called Piece
of mind.mp3. Please buy these
pople's music (aren't all malt freaks
parts of the family?)
December
24, 2008
HAPPY
CHRISTMAS WITH PETE McPEAT AND JACK
WASHBACK (buggers!)
TASTING
– FOUR GLENFARCLAS 1980 CHRISTMAS
EDITION FOR CHRISTMAS (makes sense,
doesn’t it!)
Glenfarclas
1980/2008 (48.6%, OB, Christmas Edition,
Port Pipes, casks #11067 & 11069,
780 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: starts on full
orangey mode (marmalade, dried ones),
with also a most pleasant flintiness.
Gets then both fruitier (more small
red fruits) and peppery (big whiffs
of freshly ground black pepper), with
also a little leather and tobacco.
Keeps developing for a long time,
getting then beautifully waxy and
leafy. This one needs time, as it
started rather simply but got then
wonderful. Say 15 minutes min! Mouth:
goody good attack, once again maybe
not extremely complex but the combination
of fruit jams and spices is most enjoyable.
Peppered strawberries? Other than
that we have, at random: ginger, cloves,
blackberry jelly, Seville oranges,
fresh walnuts, tea, other spices and
herbs… Excellent. Finish: rather
long, maybe a tad simpler and more
on burnt fruits (raisins on a cake)
but still excellent. Comments: a Christmas
malt indeed! Great spirit, somewhat
old style, to sip with some fruitcake,
of course. SGP:652 - 90 points.
Glenfarclas
1980/2008 (50%, OB, Christmas Edition,
Port Pipes, casks #11070 & 11071,
903 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: a little more
discreet than its sister batch at
first nosing. Less fruits but maybe
a little more spices and herbs. Just
like its sibling, it starts to really
take off after quite some time, getting
even more expressive but maybe a tad
rougher, more ‘obvious’
and less elegant. Also more barbecue
herbs (thyme first). Oh well, a great
nose anyway, almost as entertaining.
Mouth: the same things happens on
the palate. This is very good but
it’s a little less complex than
the ’48.6%’. Plain fruit
spirit (plums, cherries, berries)
mixed with strong spices (cloves first,
then pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg –
classic) and chocolate plus mocha.
Improves after a while, getting a
little fresher and fruitier. More
playful. Finish: same thing all over
again, long and very nice but just
a tad simpler than the ’48.6%’.
Comments: another one that’s
well in the spirit of Christmas! SGP:652
– 88 points.
Glenfarclas
1980/2003 (55%, OB, Christmas, cask
#11051, 607 bottles)
Colour: full amber. Nose: starts more
obviously winey right away, on big
notes of raisins as well as the same
kind of flintiness as in the ’48.6%’.
Develops towards plain wine notes,
mostly along the ‘Madeira –
yellow wine’ styles. Dry tobacco,
leather, old spices. It’s as
if it was a little tired but the palate
will tell. Mouth: no it isn’t.
It’s a rich and almost thick
kind of sherry now, with a rather
unusual twist, that is to say organic
notes that one won’t usually
find in sherried whiskies. Mostly
mushroomy/moist notes… Also
hints of cured ham. Otherwise it’s
all prunes and fruit liqueurs and
chocolates and coffee and toffee.
A tad heavy actually, but very good.
Finish: very long, spicier. Ginger
and pepper over prunes. Comments:
another excellent one, but less complex
than the ‘Ports’. Water
is not necessary (yes I tried), but
don’t try to sing O Tannenbaum
after three glasses of this. SGP:551
- 86 points.
Glenfarclas
1980/2002 (54.8%, OB, Christmas, cask
#11047, 627 bottles)
Colour: mahogany/coffee. Nose: full
classic deep oloroso, in that sense
very different from all former three.
Chocolate, wine sauce, prunes, fresh
parsley and lovage, coffee-schnapps
(like when you just poured a few drops
–right, spoonfuls- of Mirabellenbrand
into your espresso – our German
speaking friends will see what I mean
– psst, we make the best ones
in Elsass). This seems to be thick,
let’s see what gives on the
palate. Mouth: it’s rather hard
to imagine a thicker and darker whisky
but most funnily, it’s not exempt
of a certain ‘playfulness’.
But frankly, not even chocolate-coated
dried fruits taste as much as chocolate-coated
dried fruits as this Glenfarclas.
You’ll almost need a (silver)spoon!
Finish: as long and thick and heavy
but smooth as you would imagine. Comments:
right, why not try to add two or three
drops of this to a glass of very dry
champagne (Brut Zero, Nature and the
likes)? It’s heavy whisky but
Christmas can be heavy too, don’t
you think? Amen! SGP:651 -
88 points.
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: we need groovy, honky-tonky
Christmas songs, don't we? Will
Silent
night.mp3 do? It's a 1989 version
by the good Malcolm John Rebennack
aka Dr
John. Happy Christmas
and please buy Dr John's music!
December
23, 2008
PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK
TASTING
BRUICHLADDICH’S
COMPLETE FIRST GROWTH SERIES
Actually,
we had planned to gather also the
wines for this session, to check if
each one’s main markers were
to be found in the whiskies but we
had to drop the idea because we weren’t
sure about which vintage each barrique
did contain… What, you don’t
believe us? ;-) It is also to be noted
that first growths (premiers crus)
of Bordeaux are typically ‘aged’
for 18 to 20 months, exclusively in
barriques (barrels) that are just
a little larger than a bourbon barrel.
They all use new French oak exclusively.
That means that these barrels still
contain huge amounts of oak components,
and are usually reused either by ‘smaller’
châteaux, or for the second
wines of each first growth. On the
other hand, the wood usually comes
from the best French forests and is
cut from very old and ultra-tight
trees, which means that they usually
deliver much less, say ‘vulgar’,
straight in your face plain oak and
vanilla notes. We’ll give you
an indication of the grape varieties
that are used but proportions usually
vary depending on the vintages. By the way, here's a little
map:
Bruichladdich
16 yo ‘First Growth –
Cuvée A’ (46%, OB, ACEd
in Château Lafite, Pauillac,
2008)
Lafite’s true name is actually
Lafite Rotschild (not to be confounded
with the Rothschilds from Mouton Rothschild).
71% cabernet-sauvignon, 25% merlot,
cabernet-franc 3%, petit verdot 1%.
Aged for 18 to 20 months in 100% new
French oak.
Colour:
salmon. Nose: yes! It’s funny
how this wood imparted kind of a flinty
smokiness to the whisky, something
that may even be defined as ‘notes
of peat’. Other than that we
have quite a pleasant combo of blackcurrants,
fresh mint, used matches and maybe
faint notes of rubber bands. The rubber
vanishes after twenty minutes. After
thirty minutes: more strawberry drops
and leather, gets more vinous. Mouth:
punchy, much less vinous but very
spicy. A lot of pepper, tealeaves,
this slight rubber again, blackcurrant
buds, kirsch… Very little sweetness
in this one, which may surprise some
drinkers, especially after the attack.
Finish: long and unexpectedly dry.
Comments: is it possible to recognise
Lafite, or even a Pauillac in this
Bruichladdich? Well, not too sure,
and I probably wouldn’t be able
to anyway. But it’s an interesting
whisky, with a huge difference between
nose (rounder, sweeter) and palate
(dry). Changes a lot within just minutes.
SGP:362 – 79 points.
Bruichladdich
16 yo ‘First Growth –
Cuvée B’ (46%, OB, ACEd
in Château Latour, Pauillac,
2008)
Latour: roughly 75% cabernet-sauvignon,
20% merlot, 4% cabernet-franc and
1% petit verdot. Aged for 18 months
in 100% new French oak. Colour: pale
gold. Nose: this is completely different,
and it’s certainly not a Latour
vs. Lafite thing. This is much more
roasted, nutty, even kind of caramelly,
with also big notes of figs, cappuccino
and even bananas flambéed.
It
does not smell like red wine-finished
whisky at all, or let’s say
not before quite a few minutes (when
hints of blackcurrants start to come
through). Refill casks? After thirty
minutes: more leather and tobacco,
not vinous at all, flinty. Mouth:
very funny, whilst this one was less
‘exuberant’ on the nose,
it’s now much more so on the
palate. Crystallised fruits, plums,
pepper, smoked tea and quite some
tannins. ‘Assertive.’
Finish: long, quite dry again now,
with a pleasant bitterness. Comments:
one to pour your friends blind. Will
they detect wine at all? It does not
smell nor taste like red-wine aced
whisky at all. SGP:461 –
84 points.
Bruichladdich
16 yo ‘First Growth –
Cuvée C’ (46%, OB, ACEd
in Château Margaux, Pauillac,
2008)
Margaux: 71% cabernet-sauvignon, 25%
merlot, cabernet-franc 3%, petit verdot
1%. Aged for 18 months in 100% new
French oak. Colour: salmon. Nose:
we’re in the same style as the
Lafite’s again at first nosing,
this one getting then a little fruitier
(strawberries) and fresher, almost
youthful.
And
again what may be mistaken for ‘a
little peat’. The most ‘winey’
so far. After thirty minutes: more
blood oranges, a bigger freshness.
Got really nice. Clean. Mouth: rich,
creamy, somewhere between the Latour
and the Lafite. Much more spices from
the wood (pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg)
and even a little salt. Less winey
than on the nose. Finish: long, peppery.
Tealeaves. Comments: there sure is
a lot of oak in there, and maybe a
little less wine than in the Lafite.
Too bad we have no Glenmorangie 1987
Margaux cask finish at hand, it would
have been interesting to compare both.
SGP:471 – 82 points.
Bruichladdich
16 yo ‘First Growth –
Cuvée D’ (46%, OB, ACEd
in Château Haut-Brion, Pessac-Leognan,
2008)
55% cabernet-sauvignon, 25% merlot,
20% cabernet-franc. Aged for 22 months
in 100% new French oak. Colour: salmon.
Nose: we’re very, very close
to the Latour now. Elegant and certainly
not ‘winey’ as such, even
a little austere and ‘reserved’.
Gets then more expressive, more organic
and sort of grassy than all its siblings.
Again,
it’s a little more elegant as
well (as the wine is, some may say.)
After thirty minutes: more leather
and orange peel. ‘Sherry’.
Mouth: rich and creamy, almost same
as the Margaux this time. A rather
big oak, bitter oranges, pepper, a
lot of cinnamon, cherry stem tea...
Finish: long, very peppery now but
not exactly tannic. Hints of mint.
Comments: this is good. SGP:361
- 83 points.
Bruichladdich
16 yo ‘First Growth –
Cuvée F’ (46%, OB, ACEd
in Château Lafleur, Pomerol,
2008)
Lafleur is not a first growth because
Pomerol was never ‘classified’
in that way and the château
is much smaller than Medoc’s
first growths (say ten times smaller).
Not to be confounded with the very
stellar Lafleur-Pétrus, but
Lafleur’s reputation is still
very high. Roughly 50% cabernet franc,
which is unusually high, and 50% merlot.
Aged in 40% new oak, the rest in refill,
which is unusual again at great châteaux.
Still, high extraction and a profile
that’s maybe half Pomerol, half
Médoc.
Colour:
pale salmon. Nose: one may have expected
this to be the most exuberant but
it’s not the case at all. Gentle,
‘freshly’ fruity (wild
strawberries, ripe peaches) but globally
discreet. Unexpected indeed. After
thirty minutes: more wax and leather,
linseed oil. Mouth: once again we’re
very close to the other reds here,
but the tannins are really getting
ultra-big (almost green pepper!) They’re
good quality tannins. Notes of cherry
jam and strawberry liqueur in the
background. Finish: long, more on
liquorice, Szechuan pepper and peppercorn.
Comments: did these casks see Lafleur
once or twice? A very existential
question, agreed. SGP:471
- 81 points.
Bruichladdich
16 yo ‘First Growth –
Cuvée E’ (46%, OB, ACEd
in Château d’Yquem, Sauternes,
2008)
Right, we should have tried the Cuvée
E before the Cuvée F but as
Lafleur is a red and Yquem a sweet
white, we thought it would be better
to have the usually exuberant Sauternes
last. Yquem: roughly 80% sémillon,
20% sauvignon. Aged for 3 years+ in
100% new French oak. Colour: gold.
Nose:
we’re not far from the 15yo
from the core range this time, with
more apricots, Mirabelle plums and
bananas. Maybe a little ‘easier’
than the ‘reds’. Mouth:
rich, candied, balanced, with a full
basket of bananas, pineapples, chamomile
and soft spices (even if the oak is
rather big again). Finish: long, with
more oak and more pepper. Comments:
my favourite. SGP:561 - 85
points.
Overall
conclusion: are these
whiskies different? Yes, but the Lafite,
Margaux, Haut-Brion and Lafleur are
quite close to each other. Yquem is
clearly different and Latour seemingly
came from casks that had been ‘treated’
differently before, although I couldn’t
tell you how. Are all these wineskies
good? Yes, except if you hate wine-finished
whiskies, which is not our case even
if they aren’t really our cup
of tea, as some may know. Do the differences
come from the previous contents? Most
probably because the barrels that
are used by all these great châteaux
aren’t too different, even if
different specs may be used (heating
and such, specifically Tronçais
vs. ‘just’ Allier, different
barrelmakers and so on). Does using
first growth casks make your bottling
of whisky a first growth? Silly question,
Serge! Is it possible to recognise
the original château in the
whisky? Well, maybe… To do that
we’d have to organise a blind
session and invite a few other wine
geeks… Let’s think about
that!
In
the mean time, here’s our own
brand new ‘Classement des Crus
de Bordeaux’ ;-): - 85 Yquem
- 84 Latour
- 83 Haut-Brion
- 82 Margaux
- 81 Lafleur
- 79 Lafite
And
no, this isn’t over yet! One
burning question may be ‘how
do these wine-enhanced 16yos compare
with a more ‘traditional’
version?’ Most luckily, Bruichladdich
also recently issued a 16yo ‘bourbon’,
so let’s just try this one too.
Bruichladdich
16 yo ‘Bourbon Cask’ (46%,
OB, 2008)
First matured in Jim Beam casks, and
then ‘enhanced’ in first
fill Buffalo Trace casks. Is that
any more traditional than first fill
red wine finishing? Colour: gold.
Nose: fresh, crisp, clean, fruity
and, best of news, moderately ‘vanillined’.
A fruit salad (melons, peaches, apples
and bananas) sweetened with vanilla
sugar and spiced up with cinnamon
and ginger – and finally sprinkled
with just a few drops of old rum.
100% pleasure. Mouth: exactly the
same flavours at the attack, then
nicely counterbalanced with a little
more pepper from the oak as well as
a little more vanilla. Finish: sweet,
soft, medium long. Leaves your mouth
as fresh as a baby’s. Comments:
a modern, easy, all-pleasure-no-fuss
expression of Bruichladdich. But warning,
it’s highly drinkable. SGP:531
- 85 points.
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Ottawa’s Kathleen
Edwards singing Asking
for flowers.mp3. Please buy
her music.
WF
SHOPPING TIPS Christmas
ideas for those who already have everything!
These
marvellous handbag wine (or
whisky!) carriers come from
Australia (cellarbrate.com.au) and
are meant to be used as gift packaging.
They would probably attract many more
female whisky buyers, wouldn't they?
But would they repel men? Not sure... "Honey, this is for
you, merry Christmas! What do you
say? Why would a bag maker brag about
pure water running down a hill on
the inner side of his bags? No idea,
honest!"
December
22, 2008
PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK
TASTING
– FOUR OLD TULLIBARDINES
Tullibardine
12 yo 1965/1977 (80° Proof, Cadenhead's
Dumpy, Black Label)
Colour: gold. Nose: much less
‘dissonant’ or porridgy
than several old versions of Tullibardine
I could try, which means very classic,
round, fruity and jammy. All on apricots,
vanilla crème, quinces and
honey. Had I tried this one blind,
I would have put all my money on Balvenie.
Maybe better than at Lehman Bros’,
after all… Super nose! Mouth:
absolutely perfect old Highland malt
whisky, with everything it needs.
Peat, pepper, wax, oranges, citrons,
honey cake, walnuts and ginger, with
a few salty touches and a slight mintiness.
Simply perfect, even if much less
‘Balvenie’ than on the
nose. Finish: as with many great whiskies,
it gets a little bitter in the long
finish, which forbids any ‘lazy/lumpish’
feeling. Comments: old style, good
style. Perfect age, perfect bottle
ageing, maximum pleasure. SGP:453
- 90 points.
Tullibardine
1973/2004 (49.2%, OB, cask #2517,
183 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: ah, now we have
them, these ‘funny’ notes.
Not too loud but there are small whiffs
of cologne and new plastic, bread,
butter and Vicks Vaporub (I know it’s
ugly to quote brand names but at least
we all know what we’re talking
about, don’t we?) Gets then
cleaner, more resinous and almondy,
but the notes of Vicks get even bigger
after that. Eucalyptus and porridge
galore! Then it gets much, much quieter
and almost silent after fifteen minutes
or so. Bizarre… Mouth: much,
much better now, and much closer to
the old 1965, only rather oakier and
more tannic. These heavy tannins go
well with the resinous and grassy
profile I must say. Good notes of
crystallised lemon. It’s grassy
old malt! Finish: long, very grassy
and ‘walnutty’, with quite
some salt. Hints of old wood in the
aftertaste. Comments: I don’t
quite know what to think of the nose
but I enjoyed the palate despite its
rather extreme austerity. Certainly
not an all-round commercial malt!
SGP:261 - 84 points.
Tullibardine
32 yo 1976/2008 (54.3%, OB for The
Whisky Fair, light sherry, cask #3157,
177 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: it’s funny
when what can be seen as a flaw becomes
an asset (I’m sorry, I’ll
dare to say that it’s the same
with some women – nah, go, shoot!)
It’s certainly the case with
this Tullibardine, as the notes of
plastic, resin, porridge and oil are
well here but they’re sort of
encapsulated in a very elegant sherry
of the refill type, which gives the
whole great notes of bitter orange
marmalade and even something remotely
maritime. And once again, a little
Vicks comes through. A perfect winter
dram? Mouth: this is fun! Once again,
some may claim that this isn’t
‘normal’ whisky and, agreed,
it certainly isn’t, but the
‘flavours’ journey’
is worth it. Starts on orange blossom
water, then orange marmalade and rose-flavoured
Turkish delights (I swear I’m
not making this up), then ginger tonic
(a tad prickly I must say), then peppered
strawberries, then quite some salt,
then something like fried bacon, then
cigarette tobacco, then strong liquorice…
Well, this is what I’d call
a big, entertaining whisky, even if
it’s probably full of tiny,
very forgivable flaws. Finish: long,
with more salt and more woody tones.
Comments: not academic at all, but
great! (or hence great?) The fun alone
is worth 5 point here. SGP:372
- 89 points.
Tullibardine
32 yo 1976/2008 (54.1%, OB for The
Whisky Fair, dark sherry, cask #3155,
189 bottles)
Colour: deep amber. Nose: we’re
really back to strangeland here, and
this time it’s rather some ‘weird
kinds of chocolaty notes’ that
prevail. Extremely unusual, on something
like olive-flavoured chocolate (never
seen that) or even lavender-flavoured
chocolate (seen that, they make some
in Belgium). You may make that scented
soap. There’s also notes of
plastic (brand new car) and then ultra-huge
whiffs of old wine cellar, old barrel,
even wine vinegar and mushrooms. Definitely
acetic but unlike any other whisky
I could try. These slightly excessive
notes do vanish a bit after a moment
but that’s almost a shame. Once
again, a lot of fun here! Mouth: big,
coating, extremely salty, toffeeish
and spicy (tandoori style). Less sherry
as such (winey notes) but many more
spices than on the nose. Right, I’ll
spare you the full list. Finish: long,
round, creamy, orangey/spicy/salty,
which makes for a most unusual combo.
And loads of salmiak (strong salted
liquorice). Comments: the nose is
seriously winey (mushroomy barrel),
but once again, the whole is fun.
Which one do we prefer, the ‘light’
or the ‘dark’ sherry?
Both, Captain! but the light’s
nose with the dark’s palate
would have made for an even more perfect
combination. But we all know that
perfection can be boring, don’t
we? SGP:462 - 89 points.
WF
SHOPPING TIPS Christmas
ideas for those who already have everything!
Even
more good taste, this Shot
Gun Pump that's available
at budk.com. Blurb: "Pump
up your favorite drink and fire the
Wild West style pistol at will. Holster
holds your pistol between “shoot
outs”. Fits most liquor, wine,
and other spirit bottles. Bottle and
liquor not included."
I'm speechless (who said good news?)
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: just for fun, Frankie
Smith and his bombastic
Double
Dutch blues.mp3, recorded in
1981. Please buy Frankie Smith’s
music.
December
20, 2008
WEEKEND
SPECIAL
Kramer
on Scotch, we just can't have enough
of this! Now, this may work with 'Hennigan's'
but it won't work with Ardbeg or Laphroaig,
will it? Xmas tips:
you may even buy Hennigan T-shirts
at Kaptain
Myke's. And of course the Seinfeld
DVDs... But no Hennigan's Scotch because
that was a fictionnal brand. A pity?
PS:
sorry about the Portuguese subtitles
;-). Update: we got many
reactions from Sweden, telling us
that it's not Portuguese. We stand
corrected, it's Croatian!
December
19, 2008
CONCERT
REVIEW by Nick Morgan
JARVIS COCKER
Shepherds
Bush Empire, London, November 26th
2008
(SPECIAL
WARNING - As Kate,
WF's excellent London-based photographer
(aka The Photographer), didn't provide
us with any photographs at all, we're
afraid we were obliged to hand-pick
two or three ourselves. - Ed.)
It’s
the thirtieth anniversary of Rough
Trade (Records that is, not the
shops of the same name) which
despite its slightly chequered history
remains one of the most influential
independent labels in the UK, with
a hall of fame that includes artistes
as diverse as Aztec Camera, The Smiths,
Pere Ubu, Subway Sect, British Sea
Power and Robert Wyatt. And of course
Whiskyfun favourite and Francophile
Jarvis
Cocker, who’s been
on the road with his ‘Looking
Rough at Thirty’ tour.
Jarvis
writes: “Rough Trade has always
been about discovering the new, exploring
the unknown & giving a voice to
those who would otherwise remain unheard.
And they’re still doing it 30
years on. This is no dewy-eyed nostalgia
trip – it’s an on-going
revolution. Stand up & be counted!
(Actually, comfortable seating IS
available in most of the venues –
should you require it)”. Not
quite true. We’re crammed into
the back of the standing area at the
Shepherds Bush Empire, with a very
happy crowd of sardines, the Photographer
not even able to reach the camera,
let alone get a picture. At one point
she does manage a glimpse of Mr Cocker’s
knee, and possibly his long socks.
Jarvis
is here with some new band members,
some new songs, and a new, leaner,
stripped-down sound, as is becoming
fashionable in these recessionary
times (how, I wonder, might bands
like Radiohead fare in these less
extravagant times, when ‘back
to basics’ may become the musical
rule once more?). He’s also
got a projector and some Powerpoint
slides. Looking like a comprehensive
school art teacher, with beard and
shambolic suit, he gives us a short
lecture early in the set on the history
of the Bush, from Music Hall via BBC
Studio to its current use. Later he
returns to the subject of Rough Trade,
but it’s not the label that
is his focus but rather the shop,
which leads him into a discourse on
retailing, the credit crunch, and
of course our new Westfield
Shopping Centre, a gigantic cathedral
to Mamon which has just opened round
the corner, with valet parking and
– wait for it – ‘deluxe
dining’. For Jarvis fans these
apparently rambling interludes, which
are often very cleverly constructed
segues (as they say in Italy) into
the next song (although pity the poor
drummer who missed his cue), are just
as important as the music –
few artists are indulged quite as
much by their audience as Mr Cocker.
But
the songs aren’t bad. From the
eponymous Jarvis we’re given
(as I recall) ‘Don’t let
him waste your time’, ‘Fat
children’, ‘Big Julie’,
‘Tonite’ and a rousing
‘Cunts are still ruling the
world’ – everyone seemed
to know the words to that one. The
new songs would all fall into the
category of ‘promising’
– some much more so than others.
But we enjoyed ‘Caucasian Blues’,
‘Never told you’, ‘Further
complications’, ‘I’m
not deep I’m profoundly shallow’,
‘Girls like it too’ and
‘A fucking song’, the
content of which should be self-explanatory
– well, more or less. There’s
a new album here – more or less
– which promises to be very
good and probably much in tune with
the moment of 2009. Whether or not
the Shaft meets Barry White finale,
‘I don’t want to loose
you’ makes the cut remains to
be seen (the Yorkshire accent isn’t
somehow quite as persuasive as the
late Isaac Hayes’ Memphis drawl).
But it seemed to work on the night,
as live concert gave way to discothèque
(remember those Serge?) for those
who wanted to celebrate the birthday
long into the night.
Now
you’ll remember what a considerate
performer Mr Cocker is. Time was
when he’d happily share his
cigarettes with the audience, in
the absence of which he was happy
to hand round his glass of ‘medicinal’
Scotch. But in between sips I managed
to ask him my burning question of
the night: “What should I
buy my mum for Christmas, Jarvis?”.
I should have guessed the answer.
“Black
Magic, yeah yeah yeah!”
- Nick Morgan
STEPHANE
THE MAD MALT MIXOLOGISTproposes
his
Christmas malt cocktails
Cocktail
#4: "Celtic
and Exotic"
Pour into a shaker, with ice:
- 6 cl Celtic Connexion Sauternes
finish
- 1,5 cl exotic liqueur (mango, passion
fruit, banana,...)
- 3 cl pineapple juice
- 1,5 cl lime juice
- a few pinches of ginger in powder
Shake and strain into a beautiful
wine glass of your choice.
Deco: a stick with slices of various
tropical fruits.
You should propose this cocktail around
a "festive cocktail party"
featuring for instance foie gras toasts.
Please do one or two tries before
to achieve proportions that suit you
best, between strength, sweetness/acidity...
This could also be the base of a punch.
You will just have to multiply the
quantities, to add more tropical fruits,
cinamon sticks, spices of your choice...
and let the whole rest in the cold
for 24/48h before serving.
Variants: Add 1 or 2cl of white 'Floc
de Gascogne' for a more unusual taste.
You may also substitute
the whisky with another white sweet
wine-finished single malt " (such
as Glenmorangie Nectar d'Or, Benriach
Sauternes, some Bruichladdies and
so on).
TASTING
– TWO GLEN ELGIN
Glen
Elgin 32 yo 1976/2008 'Green Elgin'
(40.8%, The Whisky Exchange, cask
#5443, 215 bottles)
Cask type: unknown – that’s
what’s written on the label!
Colour: pale gold with light green
hues indeed. Nose: very alive and
fruity at first nosing, maybe more
‘Ordish’ than ‘Elginesque’
(!!!). Very nice notes of crushed
bananas and coconut butter, which
may suggest an ex-rum cask. Also nougat,
white chocolate, roses… Loses
a bit of steam after a moment, getting
a little more vegetal (green tea)
but the notes of coconuts are still
there. Also ‘old strawberry
liqueur’, Parma violet, Beaujolais
wine. Mouth: soft but not shy, very
coherent with the nose. Barley sugar,
grated coconut, dried bananas, milk
chocolate, cider apples… Notes
of mint flavoured tea, then more oak
(cinnamon, nutmeg) and various dried
herbs. Finish: not too long but clean,
‘softly’ spicy and fruity.
Comments: a great profile, complex
and entertaining (and intriguing)
but the whole lacks maybe a little
oomph. In short, excellent but too
bad this one doesn’t go to eleven!
SGP:641 – 87 points.
Glen
Elgin 1971/1985 (50%, Samaroli, White
Label w. Distillery drawing, 75cl)
Let’s see if this one
is a great as the famous 1971 ‘Fragments’
that was to be bottled three years
later (91). Colour: white wine. Nose:
this smells exactly like when you’re
entering a genuine Chinese restaurant
– no kidding. A most unusual
mix of soft spices and herbs (coriander,
green pepper, lovage) and sweet and
sour tones (plum sauce, red sauce
for dim sum – can’t remember
the name, and dried longans). Even
roasted duck! Goes on with ham, slightly
stale orange juice, blackberries,
gingerbread. Slight soapiness. Extremely
unusual whisky. Mouth: we’re
a little closer to the 1976 now, but
with a bigger body. Dried fruits,
sweet spices, a little ginger, lemon,
a little mint… A little prickly,
alas (lemon peel). Hints of coconut
liqueur. Finish: long, candied. Crystallised
quinces, cinnamon. Comments: bigger
than the 1976 but also a little less
complex and entertaining in fact.
SGP:551 – 86 points.
And
also Glen
Elgin 1968/2005 (40%, G&M Connoisseur’s
Choice)
Nose; quite close to the official
12 in style. Caramel, toffee, malt,
Seville oranges and chocolate liqueur.
Mouth: rather dry now, concentrated,
tannic, developing on liquorice allsorts
and blackcurrant jelly. Toffee. Long
and slightly astringent finish. Blackcurrant
leaves. Great but not the finish.
SGP:361 – 86 points.
WF
SHOPPING TIPS Christmas
ideas for those who already have everything!
If
you're trying to date a French girl
(or boy for that matter) and think
that letting her/him think that you're
drinking Cognac whilst you can't stand
anything but whisk(e)y, why not buy
this new bottle of Crown Royal
'XR'? She/he'll need pretty
good eyes to be able to read either
'Crown Royal' or, even smaller, 'whisky'. Now, to be honest, this
isn't a sure bet because French people
don't care for cognac anymore, and
prefer whisky, by far. Which is a
shame, of course.
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: a very, very sweet little
song called The
birds don't care.mp3 by Anna
Ash and the Family Tree
(they're from Ann Harbour, Michigan).
It seems that they're unsigned at
this moment, which is a shame.
December
18, 2008
PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK
TASTING TWO
SUPERB TALISKERS
Talisker
16 yo 1970/1986 (53.1%, Gordon &
MacPhail for Intertrade)
Colour: gold. Nose: it’s maybe
a tad ‘silently monolithic’
at very first sniffing, and it certainly
takes its time to unfold, but then
it gets totally great albeit still
a little monolithic, in the sense
that it’s really a magnificent
whole rather than a composition with
various aromas (gibberish alert!)
Let’s simply say ‘smoked
almond and quince jam’. The
rest is exactly as one would have
expected (sea air, pepper, oils, camphor,
oxtail soup and herbs.) Highest grade.
With water: more leather (not of the
feinty kind), more tea, more ham,
more wax polish, more, more, more…
Mouth (neat): amazing. Astoundingly
compact and complex, an embodiment
of ‘coherence’ as far
as malt whisky is concerned. Please
don’t call the anti-maltoporn
brigade yet… With water: please
call them now. Finish: no comments.
Comments: the only problem is that
‘average’ malt drinkers
such as us have to down at least 1,000
other malts before we ‘may’
come across such a legendary bottling.
Except, of course, if a good friend
tipped us the wink about it before.
Enormous. SGP:656 - 96 points.
Talisker
25 yo (58.1%, OB, refill casks, bottled
2007, 6894 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: on the one hand,
this is more brutal and more peppery
than the 1970, but on the other hand,
it’s more honeyed and candied
as well. Unexpected notes of strawberry
jam, the general profile being seemingly
rounder and fruitier than both the
previous and the 2008 versions of
the Talisker 25. Other than that we
do have the traditional notes of pepper,
seashells and apples, with a great
beefiness (bouillon as well) and quite
some almonds just like in the 1970.
With water: yes it works very well!
We’re getting closer to the
1970 now. More flowery notes, not
so usual in Talisker (yellow flowers,
nectar). Camphor and eucalyptus. Fantastic.
Mouth (neat): I had thought that despite
its very high profile, this one would
be in trouble after the legendary
1970 but it’s not the case at
all. Sure this is a little less ‘beautifully
mingled’ and a little rougher
but otherwise it’s a very rich,
fruity, spicy and wonderfully oaky
Talisker. It’s just a tad too
powerful when neat, so let’s
see what happens with water. With
water: works well, the profile doesn’t
change much (maybe a little more salt
and more crystallised lemon) but it
got more, say ‘drinkable’s.
Finish: long, balanced, rich and very,
very ‘Talisker’. Comments:
a big, big dram but not lacking complexity,
maybe thanks to the refill casks.
SGP:546 – 92 points.
And
also Talisker
1957 (51.1%, Gordon & MacPhail,
old Cask label, early 1980s) Nose: extraordinarily
meaty and as smoky as the inside of
a coal stove. Also parsley, herb sauce,
chlorophyll, fried foie gras (not
joking), meat sauce… Truly emphatic.
Mouth: maybe more classic but big,
powerful, very medicinal, resinous,
tarry and smoky. Say, a 1968 Norton
Commando ;-). Sake, liquorice and
crystallised lemon. A lot of salt
in the finish. Comments: not that
we had dozens but 1957 was a great
vintage at Talisker. SGP:266
– 94 points. (And
thank you Heinz)
WF
SHOPPING TIPS Christmas
ideas for those who already have everything!
Want
to make your own whisky in 2009 and
become the next Jim McEwan? Easy,
for $339.00 (you save $10 - hurray!)
you can order this 30-litres milk
can moonshine still
at milehidistilling.com. Comes with
gasket, clamp, thermometre, bung,
hoses and column packing but 'not
the girl' (so silly, S.!)
And btw, no you can't just distil
milk, you have to brew something,
or let something ferment before you
can extract any alcohol.
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: a beautiful instrumental
by Angolan superstar Bonga,
called Ghinawa.mp3.
It was on his second LP, Angola
1974 and Guinean blower Jo Maka
is on sax. Please buy the great
master’s music and support
African music!
December
17, 2008
CONCERT
REVIEW
by Nick Morgan
MOTÖRHEAD
Hammersmith Apollo, London,
November 22nd 2008
We
shouldn’t be here. No disrespect
to National Treasure Lemmy (“Good
evening. We are Motörhead
and we’re gonna play some
rock and roll”), but we shouldn’t
be here. As Lars and Klars, two
heavy metal hounds from Helgeland,
high five in front of us at the
start of every song, turning in
an impressive imitation of comedian
Harry Enfield’s Kevin and
Perry, the Photographer slumps further
into her seat, ear-plugs firmly
in place.
I’m
getting a bit worried about the extra-large
lairy largered-up leather-jacketed
market traders behind us, who are
beginning to act as though this might
be a BNP rally rather than a rock
concert. And there’s a recession
on. People of our age should be at
home enjoying a special-offer Marks
and Spencer meal for two (free bottle
of wine) and watching television,
apparently a programme called Strictly
Come Dancing, rather than enduring
ear-splitting nut-grinding nostalgia.
Maybe
Goethe was right – “See
Motörhead and die”. Because
it certainly seems that whilst once
was a pleasurable novelty, twice (unless
you’re down in the mosh, stripped
to the waist, dripping with perspiration
and beer, and lurching, shoving and
pushing like a mad thing, clearly
intent on not living forever) is an
unfortunate surfeit. So I’m
going to erase this one from my memory,
and simply keep happier impressions
of the gig at Brixton a few years
ago. Although I should add that we
were hugely entertained (‘though
I’m not sure we were supposed
to be) by support act Saxon,
led by gnarled veteran Biff Byford.
With their equally unreformed take
on Sheffield Metal with songs like
‘Wheels of steel’, ‘Witchfinder
General’ and ‘Denim and
leather’ they were very, very,
Spinal Tap.
So
that’s it. ‘You win some,
lose some, it's all the same to me’,
as they say. An early finish for us
and back home in time for shortbread
and cocoa. And a special Motörhead
Christmas gift? Some earplugs
of course! - Nick Morgan (poloroids
by Kate)
Macallan
17 yo 1991/2008 (46%, Hart Brothers,
Finest Collection, First Fill Sherry
Butt)
Colour: gold. Nose: starts very sweet
and very fruity, with a lot of apple
juice, apple pie and vanilla custard.
Nice wood, a little gingery. Notes
of warm cider and beer, slight yeastiness
(porridge and yoghurt). Very ‘natural’
and organic. Farmyard. Mouth: sweet,
soft, caramelly, roasted, very malty
at the attack, getting then a tad
grassier. Strong tea, strawberry syrup,
bubblegum (hints). Good spiciness
as well, but also a slight ‘kirschiness’.
Finish: rather long, natural, a tad
drier now. More oak. Comments: a good,
rather natural Macallan, nicely fruity,
vanilled and gingery, with more oomph
than most current OBs. SGP:431
– 83 points.
Macallan
20 yo 1988/2008 (46%, Wilson &
Morgan Barrel Selection, Sherry Butt,
cask #5809)
Colour: gold. Nose: very similar profile,
with maybe even more cut apples and
very ripe pears. Whiffs of old barrel,
wet wood. Even more pears coming through
(hot pear pie straight from the oven).
Hints of old roses, patchouli and
litchis (gewürztraminer?) Mouth:
once again, this is extremely close
to the 1991. Just a little more wood,
maybe a tad prickly because of that.
More ginger and pepper, hints of orange
marmalade. Finish: long, fruity and
peppery, with notes of kirsch once
again and a little more candy sugar
as well. Rum. Comments: same league
as the Hart Bros. SGP:441
– 83 points.
Macallan
19 yo 1988/2008 (54.2%, Duncan Taylor,
Rare Auld, Germany, sherry cask #8423)
Colour: gold. Nose: same as the Wilson
& Morgan, only more powerful.
Please read above. With water: Mouth
(neat): exactly like the W&M but
at cask strength, with a bigger sweetness
from the alcohol. With water: same
whisky indeed. Maybe a tad less rummy/candied
– maybe not. Finish: long and,
once again, very similar. Comments:
same parametering, same whiskies.
SGP:441 – 83 points.
And
also Macallan
15 yo ‘Fine Oak’ (43%,
OB, +/-2008)
Nose: rather malty but discreet, developing
a little more then, on overripe apples
and oak sawdust. Hints of orange peel
and apple peeling. Mouth: much more
expressive, compact, fruity and nervous.
Strawberry pie, coconut milk and Turkish
delights. Also hints of ripe kiwis.
Much more interesting on the palate
than on the nose. A little more mundane
than the indies. 79 points.
December
16, 2008
I
had hoped this would remain ‘secret’
but as some Malt Maniacs just noticed
it and started to ‘chat’
about it, I now have to confess that
indeed, I recently scored my 5,000th
whisky. But truth is that I don’t
quite know which one was #5,000, so
I decided that it would be the old
Clynelish 12yo for the US, for which
I published my notes on December 8.
Why? Because it’s rare (even
the font that’s been used for
the distillery’s name is unusual
– and no it’s not a fake),
because it’s extremely good
and because I think it’s the
epitome of ‘old style’
Highland malt whisky, a style that
I cherish but that just doesn’t
exist anymore to my knwoledge. Pure
magic! But okay, let’s move
on…
TASTING
– TWO BUNNAHABHAINS
Bunnahabhain
16 yo 1985/2001 (54.9%, Scotch Malt
Whisky Society, #10.51) Colour: amber. Nose:
a big, big sherry! Rich, thick, loaded
with raisins, orange marmalade, tobacco
and meat sauce. Not really complex
but perfectly balanced and without
any sulphury notes. Ultra-clean sherry,
no water needed despite the high strength.
Mouth: yummy sherry, once again perfectly
balanced. It’s even a little
more complex than on the nose, with
funny touches of salt right from the
attack. Perfect notes of chocolate,
coffee, liquorice, figs, oranges,
raspberry liqueur, dates and café
latte. Finish: long, exactly in the
same vein. Comments: not the most
complex sherry monster but 100% pleasure,
without any off-notes whatsoever.
Only problem, this is dangerously
drinkable (and probably hard to find).
SGP:732 - 90 points.
Bunnahabhain
31 yo 1976/2008 (46.5%, Jack Wieber,
Old Train Line, refill sherry, cask
#3128, 324 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: this one if a
fresh, fruity, natural and clean version
of Bunnahabhain. Orange scented candles,
cut apples and melons, bergamot flavoured
tea… It’s also rather
flowery (violets and lilies of the
valley), with hints of wildness in
the background (forest, wet herbs,
wet farmyard) and just faint whiffs
of coal smoke. The whole is very delicate,
rather complex and sort of introspective.
Intellectual? Mouth: once again, this
one isn’t an extravagant bunny
at all. Sure it’s a little more
‘directly’ fruity than
on the nose, and more ‘directly’
expressive as well, but it needs quite
some time to unfold and to display
its numerous layers: fresh fruits,
then soft spices, then various herbal
teas and finally very pleasant phenolic
hints (oils, resins). And then we’re
back on fresh fruits (peaches and
bananas). Finish: rather long, a tad
grassier and oakier now, with salty
touches again. Comments: exactly the
opposite of the 1985. This one needs
time but then it offers a very entertaining
journey. SGP:641 – 89
points. (And thank you
Herbert)
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: let's pay homage to the
wonderful late Lebanese-Colombian
vocalist Soraya
with her beautiful rendition of
Ryuichi Sakamoto's famous Tango.mp3.
And please, please buy Soraya's
music!
December
15, 2008
MALT
MANIACS NEWSFLASH
THE MALT MANIACS' MALT MONITOR
UPDATED!
The
new Monitor now displays no
less than 36,183
ratings for
11,744
different whiskies.
You may download it here. Heartfelt thanks
to MM's Luca for his tremendous
work and to all the other
scorers.
TASTING
– FOUR NEW LAPHROAIGS
As we get it 8 yo (58%, Ian Macleod,
2008)
‘Notoriously Laphroaig’
Colour: white wine. Nose: punchy,
very straightforward and extremely
smoky. Notes of tar, new tyres, bicycle
inner tube and used gunpowder (used
cartridge). Very spectacular and not
especially medicinal so far. With
water: it got extremely wild and,
indeed, medicinal and maritime. A
hospital near the ocean. Hints of
fresh almonds, wet fabric, ‘a
plate of seashells’. Mouth (neat):
big, big stuff, almost aggressive
I must say. Loads of peat, salt and
pepper, maybe just a tad too spirity
at this point. With water: a little
sweeter now, with notes of strawberries
and raspberries coming through. Big
smokiness, still. Finish: long, very
clean, all on smoke and also lemony
touches. Very, very ‘alive’.
Comments: SGP:348 –
87 points.
LP1
(58.8%, Specialty Drinks, Elements
of Islay, 2008, 50cl)
Nice bottle with a trendy minimalist/chemical
design. Colour: straw. Nose: less
extreme, a little more on wood smoke
and antiseptic at first nosing, with
also a little more fruits (mostly
ripe apples) but gets then almost
as smoky, sooty and tarry as the ‘As
we get it’. Very similar as
a matter of fact. With water: the
resemblance with the ‘AWGI’
got even bigger. Same brilliant whisky,
please read above (S., you lazy old
bean!) Mouth (neat): as powerful as
the ‘AWGI’ but a little
more complex and certainly more medicinal.
Huge spicy notes (pepper galore) and
an immense ‘tarry’ peatiness.
Salmiak. Rather extreme, a true Peat
Monster. With water: now it got clearly
different from the AWGI. Earthier
and rootier (liquorice wood). Hints
of gentian and marzipan mixed with
a little honeydew (note to self: have
to try that one day). Finish: as long
as a job done using MS Excel 2008
for Mac. Comments: classic young Laphroaig
from the best cuvees. SGP:348
- 88 points.
Laphroaig
18 yo 1989/2008 (53.7%, SMWS #29.66,
'Maritime and sweet')
Colour: gold amber. Nose: more maturity
and complexity here but we’re
well in the same family. Very interesting
combination of an almost brutal peatiness
with big notes of vanilla fudge and
even bigger notes of pu-erh tea. Sherry.
Quite some gunpowder as well, bicycle
inner tube again, notes of old rum,
candy sugar… Very big Laphroaig,
very expressive. With water: at full
speed on wet tobacco, leather polish,
dried figs and grilled bacon now.
A lot of bacon actually! Mouth (neat):
thick, concentrated, pleasantly rubbery,
with a heavy liquorice mixed with
mocha and both milk and bitter chocolates.
Notes of orange marmalade as well.
With water: now it’s close to
perfection. Ultra-perfect balance
between the trademark wildness and
a, err, perfect creaminess brought
by the wood. Liquorice. Finish: long,
lingering, peaty, earthy yet round
(toffee). Comments: brilliant middle-aged
Laphroaig from a very active cask.
Very opulent but never cloying. SGP:548
- 91 points. (And thank
you Marcel).
Laphroaig
21 yo (53.4%, OB for Heathrow Terminal
5, 750 bottles, 2008)
Assembled out of 9 casks, so we guess
that not all the casks’ content
has been used here. Colour: gold.
Nose: very expressive again but rather
more polished and fruity than its
three siblings. Beautiful notes of
quinces and passion fruits topped
with fresh crushed mint leaves, then
more camphor and eucalyptus before
it gets hugely maritime. Seaweed,
sea air, sea water... Some delicate
toffee notes as well. Mucho brilliant
so far, with hints of the very old
10yos that were bottle thirty years
ago or even before. With water: really
exceptional now. More resinous (superb)
and rounded (vanillin), with also
more soft spices (ginger, Indian sauce).
Hints of new oak, maybe there was
some fresh bourbon involved. Mouth
(neat): wonderful attack, big but
not aggressive, very ‘wide’
– it does ‘the peacock’s
tail’ right from the start.
Goes into many consecutive directions
(if you see what I mean), with leathery/earthy
tones, classic peat, spices (cloves
and pepper), salt and bitter oranges,
juicy fruits (tangerines, mangos).
Then the whole medicinal shebang.
Wow. With water: it got marvellously
zestier, almost lemony, candied yet
very phenolic in the background. Finish:
very long, softer now but truly multidimensional,
even if there are some faint notes
of fresh oak again. Comments: just
perfect. Going through Heathrow’s
infamous Terminal 5 had to offer compensations
I guess, but we’re asking for
more of this for Charles de Gaulle
and Orly as well (no we won’t
start a Facebook group), and ‘maybe’
other airports ;-). SGP:557
– 92 points.(And
thank you Alexandre and Guillaume
Laudic from Beijin)
Dec
16 update: both Geert
and Marcel confirmed that there were
also 1427 75cl bottles made for the
US, which, with the Heathrow edition,
makes for the 9 casks. The US version
is cheaper: $325 instead of £299
at Heathrow and, as Geert pointed
out, it includes a free 5cl dram ;-)
STEPHANE
THE MAD MALT MIXOLOGIST proposes
his Christmas malt cocktails
Cocktail
#3: "X-mas
G.G.B."
Pour into a shaker, with ice:
- 6 cl young Glenrothes (e.g. 1992/05,
or Select)
- 2 cl ginger liqueur
- 1,5 cl triple sec (Combier, Cointreau...)
- 1 cl lime juice
- 1 cinamon stick
Shake and strain into a cocktail
glass, onto the cinamon stick.
Add a pinch of powdered ginger
Deco: one orange slice.
Fun: the cinamon stick may also
be used as an original and tasty
straw!
This cocktail reminds me of gingerbread
(hence its name) and should be very
tasty at the end of a Christmas
dinner, with some sweet and/or spicy
dessert...
WF
SHOPPING TIPS Christmas
ideas for those who already have everything!
A foldable
stemware dryer. This is serious
stuff and holds up to 8 glasses.
Price: $24.95.Available
at wineenthusiast.com.
WF tip: does not work with tumblers
or Glencairns but may work as a TV
aerial.
You may also have a look at this 'StemGrip
Dishwasher Wine Glass Rack'.
MUSIC
– Recommended
listening: Nick points this very
nice - albeit unusually a propos
- version of Jingle
bells.mp3 by the very idiosynchratic
Johnny
Dowd out to us. Please
buy Johnny Dowd's music!
Colour: deep amber. Nose: starts as
animal as a fairly young sherried
Bowmore can get. Hare’s belly
(readers keep asking us if we mean
Halle Berry and we keep answering
no!), old leather, pipe tobacco, strong
liquorice, then new leather (very
vivid), dried kelp, seashells, raw
chocolate, cigar box, freshly ground
pepper (huge) and dried mushrooms
(boletus). Wonderfully organic, lovers
of the genre will adore this one.
With water (‘though water may
not be needed): more leather and more
game. Mouth (neat): extremely thick,
rich, creamy, almost ‘screamingly’
concentrated. Heavy peat and heavy
sherry, which creates a huge ‘sweet
spiciness’. Gingerbread, crystallised
oranges, tangerine liqueur, honey
and pepper liqueur (it’s called
Slavyanskaya in Russia), cardamom
again, baklavas… How rich! With
water: it got even spicier and drier,
and more orangey at the same time.
Strictly no offbeat notes and no sulphur/rubber,
which isn’t too frequent with
heavily sherried peaty whiskies. Finish:
very long, orangey and leathery, with
quite some salt now (more salt when
naked, less when reduced). Comments:
for lovers of strong sensations. I’d
love to try this after twenty years
of bottle ageing. SGP:467
- 90 points.
Colour: gold. Nose: punchy, really
candied, as if the peat was encapsulated
in bitter oranges and ginger. Loads
of caraway as well. No strawberries
or blackcurrants so far. With water:
here come the flowers (peonies, lilies)
and Bowmore’s classic ‘coastal
peatiness’. Still no straight
winey fruitiness and that’s
good news. Certainly not first fill
Port! Much, much nicer with water.
Mouth (neat): hot and pungent, but
the profile is very nice. Peat, pepper
and Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit bubblegum.
Water is obligatory. With water: almost
classic Bowmore now, with notes of
violet sweets that may come either
from the spirit or from the Port.
Or from both. Blackberry jam, mild
peat and soft spices. Finish: long,
on pepper and Juicy Fruit again. Comments:
good finished Bowmore (which means
a lightly finished Bowmore ;-)) SGP:546
- 82 points.
Murray McDavid were using different
labels for Italy at the time. There
was also an excellent old Macallan.
Colour: white wine. Nose: a hugely
buttery and kind of vegetal Caol Ila,
with big notes of apple peels, white
truffles, petrol, Swiss cheese, cut
leaves (newly pruned privet) and metal
and not much peat. Very unusual and
probably flawed from a blender’s
point of view, but most pleasant and
interesting from an amateur’s.
Mouth: wonderfully almondy and salty
at the same time. The cheese is back
as well (Comté, Edam), cold
apple pie, kippers, walnuts…
Gets then peatier and more candied
(lemon pie). Very good, with some
aspects remind us of ‘old’
Caol Ila (pre-1970s). Finish: medium
long, still on apple and lemon pies.
Peated marzipan (?) Comments: very,
very good at just 9 years of age,
but the nose may bother some drinkers
– and really satisfy others.
SGP:355 - 88 points.
From an ‘European cask’.
Colour: straw. Nose: this is a much
flintier version of Caol Ila, with
a little more vanilla as well. Seawater,
green apples, fresh almonds and fresh
mint. ‘Pleasant’ plastic
(brand new tennis shoes). Not a peat
monster either. With water: gets much
more organic, vegetal and even a little
resinous. Fern, moss, pine needles,
then ‘a bag of langoustines’,
oysters… Caol Ila spends very
little time on Islay (usually a few
days) but this ‘coastalness’
is truly amazing. Mouth (neat): classic,
excellent young Caol Ila. Fresh almonds,
oysters (salt), fresh butter, crystallised
lemons and just a little mint and
liquorice. Simply very good. With
water: more of the same, only rounder.
Finish: long, clean and even saltier.
Comments: sharp, straighforward, crystal-clear
(and clean) young salty Caol Ila.
A prototype. SGP:346 - 86
points.
Colour: pale gold. Nose: pretty nice,
pleasantly lemony as expected but
getting also a tad ‘chemical’
(faint hints of glue, burnt plastic).
Cut apples and strawberries, ginger
tonic, cloves… A bit difficult
I think, and a tad soapy as well.
I like a little austerity in Rosebank
but this is very austere I think.
Mouth: rather pleasant attack but
the whole gets rather bitter, with
unusual notes of juniper (genever),
ginger tonic again, even salsify…
And a little soap again (just a little).
Kind of wonky if I may say so, but
surely drinkable. Finish: medium long,
a tad bitterish. Comments: I think
this is a Rosebank that’s pretty
shippable but not quite in the same
very high league as most of BBR’s
usual bottlings. Only my opinion of
course! SGP:261 – 77
points.
Latour: roughly 75% cabernet-sauvignon,
20% merlot, 4% cabernet-franc and
1% petit verdot. Aged for 18 months
in 100% new French oak. Colour: pale
gold. Nose: this is completely different,
and it’s certainly not a Latour
vs. Lafite thing. This is much more
roasted, nutty, even kind of caramelly,
with also big notes of figs, cappuccino
and even bananas flambéed.
