August 15, 2014

Two Aberfeldy in the midst of summer

I have a kind of fondness for Aberfeldy, the well-known Midlander’s one of the summery malts and the distillery’s very tidy and pretty.

Aberfeldy 1994/2014 'Melon Vine' (46%, Wemyss Malts, hogshead, 242 bottles) From the brand new batch of bottlings by Wemyss. Colour: straw. Nose: it’s easy, fruity, malty and cerealy. I was about to write ‘as Nature intended’. Barley sugar and apple juice, maybe touches of not-too-ripe melons indeed, then light acacia honey. Easy and pleasant, kind of uncontroversial. Mouth: same feeling, there’s a pleasant mouth feel, good body, with some apples, ‘maybe’ melons, touches of oranges, some malt, cornflakes, and just touches of grass. Finish: good length, now with a little vanilla and tea. Comments: I’m not sure I’ll remember this good hyper-balanced and rather light malt forever, but it does the job. Sometimes rougher edges are more… memorable? SGP:441 - 80 points.

Aberfeldy 30 yo 1974/2004 (59.5%, Scotch Single Malt Circle, cask #2186, 236 bottles) Colour: gold. Nose: more grass, more oak, more ’bumps’ so to speak. You could say more character, but it’s otherwise rather blocked, should be the very high strength. I do get very nice whiffs of warm hay, though, which is pretty summery indeed. With water: and it loves water almost as much as black fungus likes it as a whole. A basket of summer fruits plus drops of sunflower oil and crushed chickpeas. Hummus? (not humus!) Mouth (neat): big, very cerealy, with also quinces and citrons. Cooked rhubarb, perhaps. Less closed than on the nose, but it’s still not very talkative. Notes of sweets and jellybeans coming out after two minutes. With water: excellent again, swims like a champ. Apples, cherries, plums, those melons, barley water, shortbread… All easy and good now. Finish: long, clean, fruity and fresh. Marshmallows. Comments: needs water, and then delivers. SGP:541 - 86 points.

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