Nine St Magdalene for WF's 14th Anniversary


July 28, 2016

	Nine St Magdalene for WF's 14th Anniversary
	Good folks, distinguished whisky lovers and dear friends from all over the world, little Whiskyfun is 14 today, and after 14 years, it seems that you still put up with me and my modest scribblings! I'm chuffed...

In theory, I should write a kind of statement, or a rant about the state of whisky, about the NAS issues, about the rampaging yield-oriented industrialisation of our favourite drink, or about the will to try to premiumise just any very average distilled grains, or about PR in disguise that is infecting all corners of the whisky web and of our magazines and even books… Or, on the contrary, a laudatory piece about these distillates that are getting better and better, or about the excellent new craft whiskies (and fake craft as well), about the makers that stay true to their values, or about Clynelish, Springbank, Tomatin, Benromach, Westland, Wolfburn, Lagavulin, Cadenhead, Signatory, G&M, and others that are slowly becoming the actual guardians of malt whisky, while a large part of the industry is getting a little too obsessed with building brands rather than products, in my humble opinion…

But after all, Whiskyfun is just a tasting diary, it’s not quite a ‘blog’ that keeps reviving old chestnuts. Well, I’m certainly trying not to, so perhaps should I rather taste a bunch of whiskies, as usual, also to celebrate the fact that the figures for this lousy low-tech website are up around 20% these days, something that I had only seen in the early years… Which makes me think, given that I haven’t changed one iota to this thing called Whiskyfun (yeah or Whisky Fun, never managed to make up my mind), and given that the whisky market has been flat at best for two or three years now, why would both our number of visits and our number of visitors rise so fast these days? I can see only one explanation, which is that people are seeking more and more information before they make a purchase, and that they’re looking more and more for independent voices and opinions. An independence that you can ‘feel’, not an independence that’s just stated without any proofs. You know, propaganda.

In fact we’ve got some quite extraordinary whisky at hand (believe me), but that one will make for our 12,000th tasting note, a little later in August or September. I can’t tell you what it is yet, but please be sure that it’s going to rock! In the meantime, let’s rather have a bunch of… Say, St Magdalenes? Would that do for a rather low-key 14th anniversary? Let’s see what we have and how far we’ll manage to go. We’ll kick this off with a few 1982s, some at super-high strength, and then try to go ‘vertically’, if God lets us live… given our little apéritif, ahem…

Linlithgow 9 yo 1982/1992 (62.6%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, 150th Anniversary)

Yes, a nine-years-old St Magdalene. Oh boy do we love these super-young ‘old’ Cadenheads, especially the Port Ellens and the Linlithgows/St Magdalenes, even if those were not for the faint-hearted… Colour: white wine. Nose: raw artisan mezcal, really. Very citric, chalky, and smoky, as in a great cocktail that would contain, well, lime, chalk, and liquid smoke. And a lot of alcohol, of course. Tends to get then super-grassy and leafy, but that’s beautiful. With water: some fusel oil at first, then rather plasticine, raw wool (visiting Islay’s Woollen Mill after a few drams), and a very natural soapiness. Rubbed cow cockle or something. Wonderfully austere and un-sexy – and un-commercial. Mouth (neat): amazingly lemony, super-blade-y, with a very leafy sootiness (wouldn’t that rather be a sooty leafiness?) and some alcohol that just burns. The heads of some raw Kirschenwasser. Careful with that glass, Eugene… With water: ah, civilisation. Soft lemon squash with a little honey and always quite some ashes and sooty things. Clay and kiwis, perhaps. Finish: very long, lemony, mineral, and ‘woollen’. Definitely one for the countryside. Sadly, the aftertaste is a little bitter, which makes it lose points. Chewing leaves. Comments: a very educational whisky and, I think, the youngest St Magdalene I’ve ever tried. Only the finish was a little difficult. SGP:372 - 87 points.

As far as high strengths go, you’ve seen nothing yet… Let’s have more 1982s, from 23 to 28 years old…

Linlithgow 23 yo 1982/2006 (61.4%, Duncan Taylor, Rarest of the Rare, cask #2204, 282 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: very chalky and very leafy, rather in the style of the famous 23 years old Rare Malts. There’s some crushed limestone, some fresh concrete, a little antiseptic, some chalk, gravel… And raw wool again. I’m sure this very austere – and mineral – baby desperately needs water. So, with water: superb! Lime, cactus juice, kiwis, rhubarb, chalk, that old tweed jacket after a walk in the rain… And perhaps even the mud you’ve got under your boots. Mouth (neat): perfect! Lemon, lime, chalk, and mezcal once again. Super-sharp, super-blade-y, and wonderfully zesty, not unlike the sharpest white Sancerres. Sure it cuts you in halves, but that’s one of its assets. Also love the wee saltiness, rather unexpected. With water: just perfect, a tad rounder and sweeter but that’s for a good cause. Limoncello, green apples, ashes… Finish: long, very precise, sharp, ultra-clean… Did they distil some Sancerre? Watch the sulfites! Comments: doesn’t this celebratory session start well? SGP:472 - 91 points.

Linlithgow 25 yo 1982/2007 (63.4%, Silver Seal, cask #789, 601 bottles)

It’s funny that while Silver Seal did an excellent 27 yo 1982 two years later and called it St Magdalene, they had named this 25 yo Linlithgow only two years earlier. Or was that what was on the papers? Not that it matters much, I agree… Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s a rather rounder and softer version, although ‘soft’ may not be the right term given this super-high voltage. I guess the cask had been a little more active, as I’m getting some vanilla cake, for example, as well as touches of maple syrup. But other than that, it’s well a very zesty, mineral, and sometimes a little medicinal Linlithgow. A little mercurochrome drizzled onto chalk, lemons, leaves… And mezcal, caramba. With water: and here comes the damp wool. That old jacket, you know… Mouth (neat): another one that’s totally lemony, but that would rather be lemon cake or tarte this time, because of this added softness from the cask. Very excellent nonetheless. With water: beautiful, zesty, lemon-curdy, leafy, grassy… Plus one raisin. Finish: long, but just like the youngster that we had first, it tends to become a little bitter, remind us that St Magdalene was never an easy-going Lowlander. Grass juice and raw grappa. A little coconut in the aftertaste. Coconut, really? Comments: super-totally excellent, but the DT was actually cleaner and had a better, say definition. SGP:462 - 89 points.

Linlithgow 26 yo 1982/2009 (61.2%, Signatory Vintage, wine treated butt, cask #2200, 225 bottles)

It was very honest to state on the label that the cask was ‘wine treated’. Nobody tells you that anymore, while many still do it (as far as I know). Colour: pale gold. Nose: no wine treatment that I can detect, rather a lovely woolly, chalky and citrusy start, then some soot and a few ashes, perhaps a little brown coal, plenty of grass, and this feeling of ‘old pharmacy’. Sancerre or sauvignon blanc are included in the pharmacy, which should be mandatory. With water: the wilderness. Dry lemony riesling and that old jacket from the country house again. A little Vicks for your cold. A cold in July in the northern hemisphere! Mouth (neat): how very good! This time there’s more herbalness, around chartreuse, and perhaps a few drops of Dutch jenever. A little acrid, perhaps, but that’s all fine. More asperities, as they sometimes say in mountaineering. With water: gets soft, fruity, candied, sappy, with some honeydew, or pine drops… But it still roars. Takes a lot of water. Finish: very long. The chartreuse is back, and so is the limoncello. Almonds. Comments: another excellent one. So, wine treated they said… was that riesling from Turckheim’s Brand? Because remember that “Zu Turckheim im Brand wächst der beste Wein im Land.” That’s debatable, I agree. SGP:461 - 90 points.

Linlithgow 28 yo 1982/2011 (57.3%, MacKillop’s Choice, cask #2206)

A sister cask, obviously. Many of these 1982s were coming from the same parcel. I remember World of Whiskies in Heathrow had many interesting MacKillops, but now they almost only have hyper-marketed official NAS stuff. Not worth flying anymore. Colour: straw. Nose: same whisky, aroma for aroma and word for word. Well, almost, this one’s just a notch chalkier. And just as great. With water: muddy, earthy, woolly, medicinal, with some eucalyptus… That’s all what I like. Mouth (neat): indeed, almost the same whisky, but this one’s kind of fuller and brighter at the same time, more immediate, and more pleasing, in a way. Wonderful crystallised citrus, pass the Sancerre! With water: the medicinal side is coming out again. Perfect lemon liqueur, crème de menthe, and, wait, shiitake? Finish: long, rather rounded for a St Magdalene, citrusy and mentholy, with some malt in the background. Comments: I would be curious to know which kind of yeast they used to use at St Magdalene. Brilliant bottle. Boo, World of Whiskies! SGP:461 - 91 points.

Goody good, how many 1982s did we try? Five? Time to dive into earlier vintages… Starting with the well known 1975s…

St Magdalene 1975/2005 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail Reserve, for Brookline Liquor Mart, USA, cask #21, 270 bottles)

For a shop in Boston. Our American friends know their St Magdalene too. Colour: gold. Nose: very different from all 1982s, much rounder, better civilised, and perhaps more complex. There’s much more honey, for example, old Sauternes, sultanas, mint tea, tobacco, potpourri and patchouli, dried parsley, eucalyptus… This will become a dilemma, Emma, between this one’s more classic, rounder, easier profile and the 1982s’ sharper brutality. Mouth: I’m finding what was in all Rare Malts, that is to say a very complex herbalness. Granted, the Rare Malts needed a lot of water, while this one may be enjoyed just ‘like that’. Love the herbal nuts, the tobacco, the grassy kind of liquorice, the sweet mustard, and all these overripe apples and pears. Almost feels like some excellent calva at times. Yep that would be Calvados. Finish: medium, very herbal and mentholy, with some chocolate from the oak (I’m sure). Thin mints and marmalade? Comments: another very great drop, more lush than the 1982s, easier, but still quite anti-commercial, whatever that means. One of the most drinkable St Magdas. SGP:561 - 90 points.

Linlithgow 22 yo 1975/1998 (51.7%, Signatory Vintage, Silent Stills, cask #96/3/01, 335 bottles)

Quite possibly Signatory’s most prestigious series. They used to come with a miniature and a piece of the cask, which was probably very expensive to make. Colour: white wine. Nose: we’re going more towards the 1982s again, with an austere profile, very leafy this time, then with some moss, mushrooms, fern, and all things in a northern forest. Even pine needles. Some sap as well, lamp oil, candle wax, these bits of concrete that did abound in the 1982s, and some clay. A great sourness as well, around, well, sour apples. With water: it’s to be said that the wood was perfect. Celery, apple peelings, more moss, more things from that forest… Mouth (neat): oh this is brilliant! It really is like that legendary Rare Malt, starting a little jumbled and kind of orderless, before all is falling into places, herbs, resins and saps, dry fruits (cider apples), our dear mushrooms, waxes, citrons and lemons… I’m finding this splendid, certainly less immediate than the G&M, but perhaps (even) more complex. With water: please call the anti-maltoporn brigade! I’m just wondering, if you let lemon rinds and honey marinate in good whisky, would you get some kind of supra-limoncello? Have to try that one day… Finish: not the longest, but this candied citrusness is just lovable. Those things from that forest too. Comments: very hard to beat. SGP:452 - 92 points.

And now some holidays, with a lighter one…

St Magdalene 1980/1995 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, Centenary Reserve)

I know, only 40% vol., a thing from the past, but we’ll take our time and do it gently… Oh and it’s got a twist cap. Not that that matters much… Colour: straw. Nose: oh this is very different. Fish brine, metal polish, fuel smoke, lager beer, green tea, with a little plasticine yet again… It’s obviously much softer than the others, but it’s also very elegant and refined. Also love these whiffs of artisan sunflower oil… Mouth: super good, complex, full despite the strength, rather oily, with many smoked or roasted nuts and seeds. Sesame, for example, or gourd seeds. Normally, as a whisky blogger, I should write ‘I’d kill to be able to try this at cask strength’. But I won’t… oops. Finish: perhaps a little short, but the lemons are coming to the rescue. Pine-y aftertaste, which is obviously good as long as it’s not excessive. Comments: I just noticed that we had this 1980 after the 1975s, while this was supposed to be a verticale. What a mess at WF Towers! SGP:351 - 89 points.

Perhaps is it time to put an end to these celebrations. Unless we’ve got something from the 1960s, so that we could claim that we’ve covered three decades of St Magdalene/Linlithgow. Hold on, I may have a little something…

St Magdalene (Linlithgow) 30 yo 1964/1994 (48.5%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection)

Ah the small cream label… There was genuine rocket fuel in this series, but we were always very close to the distillate. Not talking about the sherry monsters, of course, those used to be closer to… Jerez de la Frontera. Colour: pale gold. Nose: wow. Triple wow. It’s really time to call the anti-maltoporn brigade. Imagine an old chalet somewhere in the mountains. There’s a fireplace, the furniture was just polished in the morning, and someone brings you your afternoon tea, while someone else is smoking his/her pipe near the window. And into your tea, you’re pouring fir honey and drizzles of lemon. Pure bliss, until someone wants to play Scrabble. Mouth: I’m not saying there isn’t any oak, but it’s very mentholy and gingery oak, which works pretty well this time. Actually, this baby’s full of Christmas flavours – so much for July – which I hadn’t expected, given the pale colour. Apple crumble, fresh gingerbread, mulled wine juniper, cloves and oranges… It’s also rather smokier than other St Magdalenes, with an even oilier mouth feel at that. And it’s clearly getting medicinal, in a brilliant way. Cough drops? Finish: long and, this time, totally fresh and coherent, while others did lose a few pints at this stage. Lemon marmalade, spices, cough syrup… It’s wintery indeed. Comments: between 92 and 93, but halves are for bigheaded sissies, aren’t they. Oh who cares, this is a rare old bottle… SGP:462 - 92 points.

Ite session est. We’ll try to do something more spectacular next year for Whiskyfun’s 15th anniversary (again, if the god of uisge beatha lets us live), but in the meantime, watch our 12,000th whisky, soon in these humble pages! No I won’t tell you what it is, no need to insist. But it’s something I always wanted to try, at any costs…

(Merci Dennis, Nicolas, Tobias and Tomas)

Check the index of all St Magdalene I've tasted so far