Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Gradation: 55.1%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon, ex-Sirah, ex -Vin Doux Naturel and ex-Sherry Oloroso
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Bruichladdich (Rèmy Cointreau)
Average price: € 110.00
Official website: www.bruichladdich.com
Vote: 92/100
PERSONAL NOTE: today we are celebrating the first anniversary of the blog, which started exactly one year ago with the review of Lagavulin 16 (a piece that, reading it again today, I would probably change, but I prefer to leave it as it is).
I can only thank all those who follow us, which has grown day by day, also on our Instagram profile, and I also thank my two collaborators, Il Bevitore Squattrinato and Grande Otre, who have contributed a great deal to making this little dream come true.
One hundred of these days and more!
Let’s return to the Cask Exploration Series of Port Charlotte, with which the Bruichladdich distillery continues its policy of experimenting with ageing in different casks, always presenting itself with total transparency to its fans.
Distilled in 2010 from the previous year’s harvest of Scottish barley, it was created by blending whiskies from different casks: 30% from ex-Bourbon first fill casks, 40% from second fill casks, 25% from ex-Vin Doux Naturel French wine casks and the remaining 5% from ex-Syrah wine casks, with the final 18 months of maturation in hogshead casks, ex-Sherry Oloroso, for a total of nine years of ageing.
The series debuted in 2018 with the MC:01 which was followed the next year by the MRC:01 and in 2020 by this bottling: very curious to know what the future holds…
Tasting notes
Amber in the glass.
The nose is obviously peat, earthy and marine at the same time, with a smoke that is not at all acrid, carrying sweeter aromas of orange, ripe figs, red fruits, cinnamon and honey. The more it breathes and opens up, the more other facets emerge, of caramel, lemon peel, sultanas, chocolate, liquorice root, hazelnuts. Resin and leather. Very rich and full-bodied, it could be sniffed for hours to capture every nuance.
The palate is also very full, with its alcohol content warming without burning, pushing pepper and spices, while hazelnuts and ripe fruit slide oily filling the mouth. Peat remains the main theme, bringing a substantial marine saltiness that lingers on the lips, and in the humid smokiness grow the vinous and dry notes that cleanse the mouth with every sip. Leather and tobacco intersect in the aromas, chasing citrus fruits through the waves of this ocean of impressions, where can you can feel panna cotta, caramelised cane sugar, liquorice and chocolate.
The finish is very long, of salt, embers, orange, tobacco and leather.
A portentous, full-bodied, rich, multifaceted whisky that continues to evolve and change with every sip, with a textbook balance of flavours that follow one another without overlapping.