January 14, 2014

A short Littlemill verticale

Maybe some fruit bombs to be expected, tell me about a terroirist (diving to even lower lows today, S.!)

Littlemill 20 yo 1992/2013 (54.5%, Berry Bros & Rudd, cask #11)

Colour: straw. Nose: it is one of 'them'. Grapefruits first, then lime and cut grass, then walnut skins and hints of sugar cane, plus ideas of hazelnuts and then more redcurrants, gooseberries and just a little earth. Pretty perfect so far. With water: a 'riesling Littlemill' indeed. There's even a minerality. Some chalk, for example... Mouth (neat): superb, lemons and grapefruits, seaweed (Japanese nori) and angelica. Perfect zestiness, this one's 'sharp like a blade' but everything's perfectly balanced. Even the mouth feel is perfect, what a lovely zesty Littlemill! With water: all that in the power of two. Finish: long, fresh, lemony, ultra-clean and perfectly chiselled. Comments: it's an excellent one. The most complex kind of lemon juice. SGP:651 - 89 points.

Littlemill 21 yo 1990/2013 (54.1%, Berry Bros & Rudd, cask #18)

Colour: straw. Nose: rounder, more on apples than the 1992, with less grass and more fresh butter and herbs (chives?) as well as even more walnuts. Feels more mature, albeit rather less spectacular. Gentler, in a way. With water: a little menthol coming through. Fern. Mouth (neat): exactly the opposite, this time this one's less gentle, even if it's lower in alcohol. Lemon tea everywhere, grapefruits, green tea and just a little vanilla. A sugariness in the background, which makes it also a notch fatter after a few seconds. Also pomegranates. Finish: pomegranates indeed, for a long time. And lemon, grapefuits etcaetera. Comments: much similar in fact but I tend to like the 1992's zing even better. SGP:651 - 88 points.

Littlemill 24 yo 1989/2013 (52.9%, The Whisky Agency with Acla da Fans, hogshead, 304 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: this time it's more tinned fruits than fresh ones that we're having, rather around peaches and melons, then tangerines. A little more vanilla and honey as well, blood oranges, flowers. Peonies and just distant whiffs of lilies. With water: I'd say pink grapefruit and natural leather. Mouth (neat): once again, it's a zesty, half-tropical one that goes down only too well. All-vitamin juice, tangerines, maybe a slice of banana, a mild kind of honey and, just like in the 1990, a little sugar. Barley sugar, of course.

With water: textbook slightly rounded citrus. Lemon pie. Finish: long, now with added touches of mangos and papayas, but this is no Bowmore 1966 (no kiddin'?) Comments: all perfect. Classic. SGP:551 - 90 points.

Littlemill 1988/2013 (52.1%, Malts of Scotland, sherry hogshead, cask #MoS 13035, 185 bottles)

Colour: amber. Nose: this one's really funny, as it rather starts with sardines and other tinned fish. I'm not joking, it does smell a bit like a box of caviar, but not exactly briny or even coastal. After that, oranges and herbal teas, including orange blossom and lemon zests, then broken branches and fresh nuts. Fresh walnuts. It's a very complex nose that needs time. With water: beef stock this time? Marrow? Garlic? Fun fun fun... Mouth (neat): it's just as unusual on the palate, but instead of tinned fish, it's rather tabasco and Worcester sauce that I'm finding, as well as a little sweet mustard. And after that, the expected lemons, tangerines, blood oranges and passion fruits. Lots of fun to be had with this one! With water: LOL! Pepperoni and capsicum, then more sharpy lemon zests. Finish: long, spicy. Rather ginger this time, bitter oranges, cloves... A little astringent. Comments: a very spicy one, very unusual. A funny variant, and fun's important. SGP:562 - 85 points.

Check the index of all Littlemill I've tasted so far