January 30, 2015

A trio of very different Mortlach

Shall we expect some meat? Suet? Soot? Matches? Coal?

Mortlach 14 yo 1999/2013 (46%, Orcines, cask #3803)

Colour: white wine. Nose: very interesting, this very naked Mortlach really displays the trademark notes of smoked apples, sooty oils, unlit sulphur candles and cut grass. It’s an austere one, very true to the distillate, and I especially enjoy the growing fruitiness after a few minutes. Still apples, also gooseberries and greengages. A walk in an orchard while the fruits aren’t all completely ripe. Mouth: same feeling, except that the green fruits strike first. Yet the austere side is soon to come to the front, with a smoky grassiness, grape pips oil, green tea and then very tart grapefruits. A very grassy sauvignon blanc. Good body, the strength is perfect. Finish: long and chiselled, on grass, cider apples and always this wee sootiness. Comments: sharp, in a very good way. Maybe rather for whisky exegetes? SGP:462 – 86 points.

Mortlach 'Spirit of Speyside Festival' (48%, OB, 2013)

A pre-square range official NAS Mortlach. Colour: full gold. Nose: the Orcines, only with much more cask influence. That would include vanilla, raisins, and dried coconut. What comes after that is very Mortlach, with matches, a meaty side that wasn’t quite in the 1999, some soot, some charcoal and some earth. A funny hint of volcanic scoria (perhaps). Some mad souls would even find a little botrytis in this – well, I certainly do. Mouth: there are ideas of the Flora and Fauna bottling, with a feeling of coal and roasted chestnuts, of earth, of roasted malt, of Guinness… Some bitter oranges join in the dancing after one minute, together with some sharp cinnamon mints and bitter herbs. I find quite some ginger too, as well as something drying (tea tannins, cinnamon). Finish: long, a little acrid and tannic, with unexpected raspberries. Or raspberry jelly, and maybe cranberries. That’s fun. Peppery aftertaste. Comments: excellent, I just find the wood’s influence a little heavy, with this tannic side. SGP:461 - 84 points.

Mortlach 20 yo 1994/2014 (53.4%, Cadenhead, small batch)

Mortlach 20 yo 1994/2015 (53.4%, Cadenhead, small batch)

A January 2015 rotation. Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s rather a sappy one this time. A bit of varnish, then moss, pine needles and humus, then almonds. I guess if you mix all that you could make some perfect marzipan, couldn’t you. Or ‘a walk in the forest after the rain’. Love that, these new Cadenheads are boringly interesting and embarrassingly great again (I think you need holidays, S.) With water: a pile of old planks that have been sitting there for years under heavy rain, snow and sunshine. Yes that would include mushrooms. Mouth (neat): hell and putrefaction! This is quintessential Mortlach, aggressive, sharp, dominating, and even tricky. Lemons, not-too-ripe kumquats (there!), piny stuff (old dry herbal liqueurs)… And all that. Whisky that bites you – and yet you love it. With water: oh, mint, lemons and almonds! Finish: long, precise, zesty, now perfectly clean. Ideal timing. Comments: I just hope Cadenhead aren’t bottling all their best casks these days ;-). What would be left in the future? But they give you faith in Scotch. SGP:561 - 91 points.

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