February 3, 2016

The Mortlach week, Wednesday

We’re simply going on, okay… And we’ll start this sub-session with an old one at light strength…

Mortlach 21 yo (40%, Sestante, +/-1990)

With the famous and oh-so charming ‘Highlander’ label. When I tried last time it was dead so I did not take any proper notes. Colour: gold. Nose: unusual, to say the least. Starts with plenty of olive oil, goes then towards old books, or cardboard, and lastly, a lot of ‘artificial’ orange juice, ala Fanta. Not much Mortlachness to be had this time, but let’s dig deeper… Mouth: no, this is Mortlach. A tad acrid, with some lemon, grapefruits, then quite some sawdust and white pepper, this mineral side, and a small touch of, say salted candle wax. I know. I find this good, and pleasantly ‘old school’. The low strength is a problem, though. Finish: a bit short, unexpectedly salty. The olive oil is back in the aftertaste. Candy sugar. Comments: frankly better than I remembered it, but the 40% vol. represent a handicap. SGP:452 - 82 points.

Mortlach 14 yo 1997/2011 (57.7%, The Whisky Cask, bourbon)

Colour: white wine. Nose: another clean, fresh, Mortlach au naturel, but this one’s fruitier and a little lighter than others, without much sooty/metallic/meatiness. Barley syrup, apples, white peaches, a few lactones… So it’s a little less ‘Mortlach’ than others, and could be a neighbour. With water: same feeling. The oak comes out. Mouth (neat): very fresh, and very lemony, bright and zesty, with plenty of grass beyond that. Gooseberries, pineapple jelly, a touch of salty liquorice. With water: it became fatter, even fruitier, and better. Some thickish fruit syrup with a spicy background. White pepper. Finish: medium, rather on pink grapefruits this time – this is very vivid. Peppery aftertaste. Comments: this one loves water on the palate. SGP:551 - 86 points.

Mortlach 13 yo 1988/2001 (43%, Signatory Vintage, sherry, cask #2638, 948 bottles)

Another one that I tried before, while not taking any notes. I think it’s difficult… Colour: straw. Nose: yeah, it’s rather butyric, sourish, almost acetic, with notes of cheap white Bordeaux and quite some bubblegum. It tends to improve though, as more fruits come out, especially tinned ones. Peaches, pears, apricots… Mouth: starts well, fruity and grassy, but the oak makes it bitter, gingery, and almost plankish. As shame, because the distillate had something to tell us, but it’s as if watering it down kind of made it disjointed, or something like that. And that revealed some kind of drying tannins as well. Finish: medium, oaky, and drying. Comments: pass. But this range used to be very, very fairly priced, so strictly nothing to complain about. I guess others would have done a finishing on this baby. SGP:352 - 69 points.

More pawah please…

Mortlach 10yo 1989/2000 (57.2%, Wilson & Morgan, Barrel Selection)

Colour: dark amber. Nose: we all know that Mortlach and sherry can tango to perfection. Well, this one kind of does, with plenty of cured ham, pipe tobacco, black raisins, and of course old walnuts. Mortlach’s mineral side keeps singing in the background, like if you nosed some rock after a rain. Some pitch as well. With water: becomes a tad bizarre, but all for the better. Did this baby age in a balsamico cellar somewhere in Modena? Plenty of parsley and yes, old balsamic vinegar. Mouth (neat): it’s a bit extreme, to tell you the truth, but it is spectacular. Take Fernet-Branca, add tar liqueur, add some tiger balm or something, add hyper-concentrated black tea, and add slices of bacon, congrats, you’ve come up with this. Thick mouth feel. With water: more of all that, plus bitter oranges. Finish: extremely long, as if you had quaffed… indeed, old balsamic vinegar. Comments: certainly not for the fainthearted, as they say in black death metal. Ha, the Italians! SGP:462 - 89 points.

Mortlach 1993/2011 (56.6%, Reifferscheid, Romantic Rhine Collection, sherry octave, cask #796872)

Colour: straw. Nose: another ‘natural’ one, but it’s got more mineral and waxy notes than the ‘The Whisky Cask’. So, in a sense, this is more ‘Mortlach’. I’m glad that the octave (not a fan, usually) did not impart too many oaky tones. Green apples and paraffin, soot, cut grass. With water: no, there is some dry oak, but since the spirit’s fairly big, that won’t matter much. Mouth (neat): a sharp lemony one, very grassy, with many herbs. This is almost Unicum ;-). Like that. With water: water brings more oak out, as well as earthy notes and a little salt. Not sure the salt comes from the wee cask. Finish: rather long, on green fruits and herbs. Rhubarb, lime, and green pepper, if you like. Comments: really, I’m not a fan of these octaves, but this one didn’t fail. Bah, as long as they’re not using oak chips… SGP:571 - 81 points.

… and he wouldn’t give up…

Mortlach 1993/2011 (51.2%, Duncan Taylor for Men O'Quaich, sherry octave, cask #796864)

Colour: deep gold. Nose: something else, and that’s the sherry. Raisins, milk chocolate, praline, some light pipe tobacco (not the heavy black stuff)… While Mortlach’s fattish/mineral profile’s singing in the background. Not unpleasant, this! With water: a bit more sand and earth, a bit more cardboard and sawdust. Not water’s best friend ever (that would be pastis!) Mouth (neat): praline and smoky halva! That’s the wee cask, and indeed it reminds me of some super-young American craft whiskies. In theory, I shouldn’t like this. In practice, I do. How bad is that, Doctor? Ginger cookie, pumpernickel, speculoos, caraway liqueur… All that. With water: swims better on the palate. Creamy marzipan, chocolate, almond oil, vanilla oil (should that exist), and wood smoke. Finish: rather long, oily, marzipany. Comments: oh I hate it that I like this! SGP:462 - 87 points.

Let’s leave it at that. Two more Mortlach sessions to go…

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