Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 50%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Wine
Chillfiltered: No
Additional coloring: No
Owner: Kilchoman
Average price: € 110.00
Official website: kilchomandistillery.com
Vote: 88/100
This is the third version of this edition to feature French wine casks on the label, following the debut in 2016 which featured a five-year ageing all in first-fill casks (considered by most to be too strong), followed in 2018 by one with initial ageing in ex-bourbon and a five-month finishing in ex-wine casks.
This year Anthony Wills has again opted for ageing entirely in ex-Sauternes, with a proportion of 22% first-fill and 78% second-fill (including some of those used for the 2018 edition), with two different distillate vintages of which the youngest is from 2018.
A much-anticipated bottling, which I was lucky enough to try for the first time at one of the Italian stops on the European Tour at the beginning of April.
Tasting notes
The nose has a lovely marine, saline and mineral freshness, with oysters soaked in seawater and a drop of lemon juice, rich herbal smoke rubbed on fruit (pineapple, baked apple, raspberries, currants) and cooked cream. Slight sting of spices (chilli pepper, nutmeg), while along the length the smoke veers towards burning wood accompanying the growing pastry (macaron) and mineral components.
Spicy attack at the mouth, rather lively (chilli pepper, ginger, nutmeg, paprika), which pushes more on the fruit and pastry notes, putting the coastal ones straight in the background. Ripe fruit, declined in red fruits accompanied by blood orange, baked apple, candied pineapple and mango, with sweet liquorice, burnt pastry and custard. Smoky embrace of wood-roasted thyme and rosemary.
Quite long finish in which the saline and mineral part returns on grilled fruit, spices, currants, blood orange, dull embers.
The balance of the casks is evident, the marriage with distillate and peat works and enhances the nuances of all the elements working in harmony, thanks also to the strength without excess. The empirical demonstration that maturation in wine can be done, you just have to do it well.