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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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May 3, 2021 |
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Young Caol Ila, rather a marathon |
Indeed it is Young Caol Ila Day at Château Whiskyfun. Excuse me? And why not? It's also true that those days when we were wondering whether a 'new' Caol Ila was distilled before or after the rebuilding of the Distillery are long gone… |
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Caol Ila 8 yo 2012/2020 (58.5%, The Whisky Barrel, 1st fill sherry butt finish, cask #TWB1014, 699 bottles) 
This one is about Apollo 11. Shall we expect some notes of rocket fuel? Colour: caramel/mahogany. Nose: it's pretty interesting that the spirit would have survived the heavy cask treatment, indeed, there is a little lemon, seawater, oysters and those softer ashes that are so 'CI'. Now the sherry's pretty gamey, with some cured ham, leather, balsamico, and what we sometimes call 'civet' in the wine world. With water: a whole beef bouillon, with notes of teriyaki, coriander, chocolate sauce, then tar and new rubber (tyres). More and more tar. Mouth (neat): extremely syrupy, extremely bittersweet, leathery and earthy, with some dry chocolate, more gamey flavours, tarry liquorice Dutch-style… With water: water works extremely well on the one, bringing out many small herbs and spices, loads of pipe tobacco, more liquorice, more tar… But also this inherent lightness, which comes a surprise. At +/-40%, it becomes pretty refreshing. Finish: long, on some kind of salty chocolate and liquorice combo that works well. Comments: excellently boisterous young CI. Maybe not the ideal #1 in a line-up but there, it's the youngest we had.
SGP:476 - 86 points. |
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Caol Ila 9 yo 2011/2020 (56.7%, Clan Denny for Or Sileis, hogshead, cask #DL14148, 306 bottles) 
Clan Denny is one of Douglas Laing's sub-brands. Some kind of old kung-fu master on the label (isn't that Fred Laing?) Colour: pale white wine. Probably the opposite of the WB. Nose: a tad raw and spirity at first, that's probably the youth and the well-behaved cask, with a little kirschwasser perhaps, but all the ashes, kelp, oysters and just, well, ashes are well there. With water: raw wool, another staple. More ashes too. Mouth (neat): almost aggressive at first, powerful, bitter, with some sugar too, and something really reminiscent of their newmake. These infants usually wok best at around 46% vol. in my modest experience. So… With water: yes indeed, some pears and melons come out, it got a little gentler (if still a tad newmakey), with another regular flavour in young CI, bitter almonds. Finish: long, saltier. Tonic water and seawater. Comments: very good young, yet-unpolished Caol Ila. A little challenging, I would add.
SGP:466 - 84 points. |
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Caol Ila 10 yo 2010/2020 (57.4%, Clan Denny for Or Sileis, 'The Devil and the Black Cat')
Another one for Taiwan that seems to be featuring Fred Laing on the label. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: this one seems to be much easier, more mature as well, and full of lemons and grapefruits, as well as aniseed, chenin blanc, dill, ashes, oysters… Love this style. With water: perfect coastal freshness, seashells, lemons, seaweed, all that. Mouth (neat): crystal-clean lemonness plus the most coastal peat. Lovely freshness all around. With water: a perfectly chiselled blade. Green pepper, lemons, more ashes, smoke, oysters… Plus just one drop of lemon syrup. Or, say limoncello. Finish: long, very good, slightly medicinal. Comments: you can't quite defeat these ones. All freshness, all pleasures…
SGP:456 - 87 points. |
Shan't we try another sherried one? |
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Caol Ila 10 yo 2010/2020 (59.5%, Signatory Vintage, refill sherry butt, cask #316643, 599 bottles) 
From the very famous 'Cask Strength Collection'. Colour: rich amber. Nose: the elegant glories of refill. Wonderful crystallised oranges, pine smoke, camphor, green walnuts, cough medicine… Awesome nose this far, while I'm sure it'll swim very well. Let's make sure about that… With water: wonderful old dried kelp on a beach, raw wool, and perhaps tiny whiffs of tiny wet dog after a walk on the beach. We are sorry, dogs. Mouth (neat): perfect. Tense yet wide and rich, with a lot of tobacco and marmalade, cracked pepper, chestnuts, petrol, smoked meats, lemon… No complains whatsoever this far. With water: and presto, a development on tobacco, leathers, dried spices (turmeric, paprika) and marmalade. Finish: long, more peppery and leathery. Loses one point here, there. Comments: seriously, lovely young yet mature Caol Ila from a very good cask. It's hard to do better at ten, I would add.
SGP:466 - 88 points. |
We've got quite a bag of 2010s… |
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Caol Ila 10 yo 2010/2021 (57.9%, The Single Malts of Scotland, APAC exclusive, hogshead, cask #319920, 317 bottles)
Not too sure what that APAC is but I'm sure it gathers some very fine ladies and gentlemen. Colour: white wine. Nose: crystal-clean young-yet-mature CI in the style of that second Or Sileis. That is to say very clean, fresh, coastal, oystery (!) and lemony, with a rougher medicinal touch (mercurochrome). With water: there, raw wool and beach sand. You cannot be against that. Mouth (neat): excellent, creamier, fruitier, with this feeling of smoky limoncello that would just always work. No further literature needed (literature?) With water: and there, salt, brine, oysters, green peppercorns, turmeric, bitter zests. Finish: long, very pleasantly bitter. Comments: I would say you need a great sherry cask to fetch a very high score at such a low-tennish (reminds me of an old joke involving Sean Connery) age, but this sure is the nearest best thing. Forgot to mention bitter almonds yet again.
SGP:556 - 87 points. |
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Caol Ila 11 yo 2010/2021 (53.5%, Morisco Spirits, bourbon hogshead)
New Italian bottlers, lovely Masai-style labels, good will, no complains at this end. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: obviously similar. I seem to remember we spent quite some time on Islay back in 2010, so we might have had something to do with this highest quality (yeah yeah, S., but of course). Wools, seaweed, damp ashes, camphor, drops of paint thinner, oysters, lemons… Actually, this one might well sit at the top of its cluster (named CI 10 2010). With water: more wool! Young CI always pushes out notes of raw wool once you've added water. Like, raw tweet from the Islay Woollen Mill and all that. Mouth (neat): excellent. Big lemon, seawater, Sancerre, chalk, medicine, oysters… All is perfect here. I'm even reminded of the best white Pessacs, if that rings a bell to you. With water: excellent. Chalk, grape pips, lemons, our good friends the whelks, lemongrass… Finish: rather long, excellent, fresh, lemony, coastal, smoky, ashy… Comments: looks like someone's done some smart reduction on this one. That's a fine art and it's been done properly here, I think.
SGP:556 - 87 points. |
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Caol Ila 9 yo 2010/2020 (57.1%, WhiskySponge, 1st fill hogshead, 183 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: oh this one's rounder, perhaps better polished, with notes of young branches and cut flowers, then wee fruit crocodiles and jelly babies, marshmallows, frankly I would have said young Ardmore. Let's dig deeper… With water: cassis! Or some one-year-old great red Bourgogne straight from the casks, really. Very pinot-noiry, I'm sure that's just an unwanted, and yet superb combination of molecules that should have never met. True serendipity. Mouth (neat): it's a very fruity Caol Ila for sure. Less peat smoke, more bubblegum and Haribo stuff. This is very intriguing and 'deviant', not that there's anything wrong with that. White currant jam. With water: back to smoke and oysters. Finish: extremely good. But no more Chambertin, sob, sob… Comments: this slightly loco baby loves and needs good water. It is a perfect tasting partner but it'll need a large chunk of your time. Bah, there's nothing on TV anyway. Post-scriptum: only Caol Ila can get this complex after just ten years. What? Ah, yes, nine years.
SGP:656 - 88 points. |
Enough 2010, let's go down the scale for a wee while… |
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Caol Ila 13 yo 2007/2021(54.3%, Single Cask Collection, bourbon hogshead, cask #321885, 276 bottles)
This by some splendid Austrian bottlers. It is sometimes said that Alsatians are Austrians who never made it to Paris. Which reeks of truth and common sense, obviously. Colour: white wine. Nose: it is a rather acetic young Caol Ila, while 'acetic' is a compliment in this kind of context. Creamy white balsamico and whatnot. Mud, wool, kelp, also custard and white chocolate. We're intrigued… With water: there, that old tweed jacket that's seen many moons and showers. I mean, proper Harris tweed from when that was still meaning something, not ex-Portugal. And boy do I utterly love Portugal! Mouth (neat): as if someone had tried to mature a blend of seawater, green pepper, ashes and lemon juice in a wooden vat. The end result is awesome. With water: careful, do not drown this one. Notes of bananas, that wasn't expected. Finish: long, relatively sweet and 'coated'. We used to call this 'sweet peat' when we were still innocents. Comments: I'd love to drive back to Vienna, or Salzburg, or Graz, or Linz…
SGP:656 - 86 points. |
Perhaps another 2007 from the Eastern countries… |
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Caol Ila 13 yo 2007/2020 (54.5%, Maltbarn, bourbon, 149 bottles)
A fantastic label here, Maltbarn's Martin has always given greatest care to the fully original photographs he's been using for his labels, some by his very self. Easily in the Top 10%, together with some Japanese friends. The whiskies aren't half bad either… Colour: white wine. Nose: it is a rather medicinal one, pretty much on eucalyptus-based embrocations and fresh mint. Which means this is no peat monster. Right. With water: mud, plaster, new plastic (pretty much an extinct breed) and homemade yoghurt. A rather bready young CI, that's great. Mouth (neat): excellent! Manzanilla, sea water and bone-dry Mosel riesling blended away together. You may add a tiny drop of pastis. With water: back to peaty, bready ad yeasty flavours. Finish: medium. Comments: very, very good. Perhaps just a little less 'obvious' than others?
SGP:456 - 86 points. |
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Caol Ila 2005/2021 (57.5%, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseurs Choice for The Whisky Exchange, refill sherry hogshead, cask #301507, 266 bottles) 
Have you heard anything from G&M's lately? Me neither, they might be in a state of hibernation… But lots of hugs towards Elgin! Colour: gold. Nose: but naturally, yet another dimension. Granny smith, manzanilla, vin jaune, fresh walnuts, tincture of iodine, gauze, tiger balm, green clay… Oh wow! With water: high-end old pu-her tea, proper wild trees and all that. Mouth (neat): starts like a Jamaican rum, gets then extremely grassy and peppery, with huge iodine and leathery embrocations. Looks like some very active re-racking has occurred, but not too sure… With water: citrons and mint leaves. Finish: very long, grassy, herbal. Artichokes, tobacco, mint, myrtle, grapefruits… And the expected saltier aftertaste. Comments: let's be honest, this is a superb, top-notch higher-echelon panache-y Caol Ila. But G&M? Hello Elgin?
SGP:466 - 90 points. |
It's probably time to call this a tasting session, but a (marginally) older CI would make for a perfect nightcap I suppose… |
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Caol Ila 16 yo 1998/2015 (46%, High Spirits, Life is a Circus)
We agree on the fact that life is a circus, dear Nadi. We also confirm that 46% is a perfect strength, even if 50% isn't too bad either. Colour: white wine. Nose: a relatively light, very coastal arrival, rather on green apples, lemons, plaster and sourer wine and beer. There, cider. And oysters, seashells, clams, winkles and langoustines. No less! ; if you please… Mouth: the older style, a tad more on spicy butters, Indian food, peppers, paprika… Very good, absolutely, but it is perhaps not high-definition Caol Ila. There were many such 'buttery' CIs in the 1970s and 1980s. Finish: long, good. Sour cream, overripe fruits and herbal liqueurs. Comments: complex whisky, probably not for a pretty simple mind such as this very one.
SGP:565 - 83 points. |
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