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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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November 20, 2019 |
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Little duos, today red-wine
finished Aberfeldy |
There’s this brand new 15 with its rather spectacular Château-Palmer-like gold-on-black label, and then we’ll try a moderately-packaged indie… |
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Aberfeldy 15 yo ‘French Red Wine’ (43%, OB, batch #2919, 2019) 
This new baby was finished in ‘French red wine cask from Pomerol Bordeaux’. So no Palmer, which is a Margaux as you well know, rather some extravagant merlot, I suppose. Colour: apricot. Nose: no and it’s funny that instead of some rich prune-y notes, it’s rather menthol that would come out, then verbena and wormwood, even pinesap, and then indeed, cherries, but it’s certainly not pinot-noir-y… I find this pretty attractive, and more complex et subtle than your average ‘red-wined’ malt whisky. No sour stems or leaves either, no spent lees… . Mouth: this is malt whisky. I’m not kidding, we’ve come across many such finished whiskies that had become proper wineskies. Very pleasant notes of raspberry ganache (okay, that’s the wine) over pumpernickel, pipe tobacco, Linzertorte, and then a wee cracked pepper/cloves combination. It seems that they’ve monitored the proceedings very closely, like the milk on the stove, as we say. Great balance – they’ve managed to convince me, more or less. Finish: rather long, the 43% never feel, it’s kept good body, without ever getting too jammy. Comments: not quite a Pétrus of malt whisky but I’m rather impressed, while I had first put my pistols on the tasting table. But please, no amarone!... ;-)
SGP:651 - 87 points. |
So, another wine… I mean, another Aberfeldy… |
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Aberfeldy 2000/2018 (50.7%, Malts of Scotland, finished in a Marsala hogshead, cask #MoS18029, 321 bottles)
Marsala stems from Sicily, and comes in all colours. So was this red or white? Let’s try to find out… Colour: apricot, so possibly red. Nero d’Avola? Nose: it’s much more ‘creative’ than the official, whatever that may mean, but not excessive either, so pretty well mastered. Sour cherries, strawberry jam, pumpernickel again, a wee hint of molasses, blood oranges, and then, quite unexpectedly, rather a lot of cured ham. Iberico or Italian, I couldn’t tell you. No sulphur whatsoever, just saying. With water: as always, it would get earthier, almost a little muddy, but there’s also a much unexpected peatiness coming out. Wait, peat? Mouth (neat): it’s rather rougher than the OB, with more stems and leaves, pepper, sour herbs, rosehip, also blood oranges aplenty, pomegranates, perhaps tamarind… There’s no proper clash, but there are some wee fights between the wine and the whisky, with the cask as the arbiter of elegance. With water: takes water very well, not the case with all red-wine finished whiskies. Cherry cake. Finish: medium, a little sour. Fortified mulled wine and sangria – or something like that. Comments: I would say the OB was a little better integrated and less leafy, but they’re extremely close. Red wine, pff…
SGP:561 - 86 points. |
Didn’t I just give high scores to two middle-aged red-wine finished malt whiskies? What’s happening? Am I getting soft? (Never!) |
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