Origin: Trentino Alto Adige (Italy)
Type: Italian Mountain Single Rye Whisky
Strength: 43.2%ABV
Ageing casks: New oak
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Villa de Varda
Average price: € 60.00
Official website: www.villadevarda.com/whiskyinquota
Vote: 82/100
Another of the bottlings in the first line of whiskies produced by Villa de Varda with what I think is the boldest of the four, made entirely from rye grown at high altitudes.
If aficionados are accustomed to American ryes, made from mash containing mostly rye but with a more or less ample percentage of other grains (including the ever-present malted barley), to try one that is not only Italian but is based entirely on rye is certainly no small novelty.
On the reasons for this choice, I refer you to the interview with Mauro Dolzan. In the meantime, here I taste this first version released in 1978 bottles after six years of ageing in new oak casks.
Tasting notes
On the nose, a light blanket of spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom) accompanies sweet aromas reminiscent of panettone (candied citrus fruits, leavened dough) with honey, rosewater, nutty black bread. In the background, a sour vein almost of buttermilk. Wintery.
On the palate, the volume of spices rises (with an intrusion of pepper, ginger and aniseed) with a rather light body, in which the fruity part is enriched with plums and sultanas with the sweetness changing from panettone to banana bread. Black bread with nuts remains firmly in place, in the background grow impressions of coffee and a vegetal note with balsamic ambitions.
The finish is quite long and spicy, with balsamic mottling of candied citrus fruit, dried nuts, coffee and panettone.
A very inviting nose is followed by a less incisive taste, perhaps penalised by a strength that doesn’t give it enough backing, redeemed, however, by an excellent finish: the richness of the evocations is there and just waiting to explode to its full potential.