Ardbeg 2003-2011, 7yo, 59.6% – SMWS (33.101 – Fabulous, thigh slapping smoke)

Posted on 8 February 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Another one of those funky names from the SMWS, but this one is less ridiculous than some, and actually makes some sense.

It’s the other whisky we tried while we were at The Vaults in Leith. It was recommended that we only try a few and take the rest home. Whether that was because they didn’t want five drunk Dutch guys, or because we would otherwise spend more money remains unclear.

Obviously we could have handled five cask strength whiskies. It’s not like we were not training for it the entire week. But anyway, we tried two from the five we got with our Society’s Share stuff. We had some others before and after dinner but I didn’t take notes. After all, I was out with mates and not being overly geeky.

We picked this young and hopefully fiery Ardbeg because we had been reminiscing about the Ardbegs we had when we all just started drinking whisky. Mostly the Still Young and Almost There releases in the run up to the Renaissance bottling.

Image from Whiskybase

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
It’s very light, but very fierce. Lots of dry straw and quite floral. Wildflowers. Quite some vanilla and lots of salty smoke. Slightly fishy and coastal, which is exactly what we hoped for. Not much oak (it’s 7 years old…) but there some sweetness of the spirit.

Sip:
The palate is very dry and very sharp. Sweet, but light vanilla, Crema Catalana (I somehow have the idea that is lighter than creme brulee). Straw and wildflowers again. It does mellow out, but that means some serious sloshing.

Swallow:
The finish is really nice and full. Slightly salty with vanilla and straw, lots of smoke. Long.

While this might not be the most complex young Ardbeg I’ve ever had, it sure is tasty. And it does exactly what I hoped it would do. It gives you a punch in the face with the forward flavors of smoke and salt, and a lot of alcohol.

In rating this one I have to try and do it without too many memories of yonder year influencing the results. But, in the end it’s a very solid young Ardbeg. They are nice, but not that interesting. Although these single casks beat most official releases, I think.

85/100

Ardbeg 2003-2011, 7yo, 59.6%, 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel, SMWS (33.101 – Fabulous, thigh slapping smoke).

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The Vaults in Leith, the SMWS, booze and dinner

Posted on 5 February 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

On the last day of our Scotland trip in November, we decided to visit The Vaults in Leith. This is the quintessential SMWS venue, and I have been wanting to visit this ever since my first trip to Edinburgh in 2011 or 2012. For various reasons it didn’t work out then, but having an awesome dinner at the venue in Queen Street more than made up for that.

Anyway, dinner was planned by us going for The Society’s Share. Which means a bar meal and a 20cl ‘sample’ of whisky from their special cabinet. It’s interesting that this is still available since they haven’t updated the collection in 2010 or so.

There were five of us, so five whiskies were chosen. The Rosebank fanatic went for a Rosebank. The guy who still goes dreamy eyed by mentioning the Ardbeg Almost There went for a young Ardbeg. Two others went for a virgin oak Glen Moray and a fresh bourbon matured Highland Park. I found a 1984 Clynelish available. I love Clynelish.

The dinner options were plentiful but in the end we all went for a burger, and we started with a meat. cheese and bread platter that we saw on some other tables too. Oh, and a beer of course. One that wasn’t even in Untappd yet which, nerdy as we are, makes it slightly more special.

The starter platters were great, the beer was too. The burgers were awesome with blue cheese and bacon toppings added. I don’t even remember whether or not we went for dessert.

As an added bonus we had some other drams too, and I got to meet Crystal Coverdale, who I know from Facebook and various bottle share initiatives.

I’ll review other the whiskies over the coming couple of days, but let’s start with the Glen Moray.

Glen Moray 1996-2010, 13yo, SMWS (35.35 – Christmas in Morocco)

This whisky was matured in new charred missouri oak, and bottled officially at 57%. Our sample was pulled slightly later and sat at 56.66%, according to the label.

Image from Whiskybase

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Lots of oak on the nose, but also a fruit salad. Crusty sponge cake. The nose is huge on this dram. Fresh oak with lots of vanilla. Slightly perfumy and very sweet.

Sip:
The palate is rather sharp and sweet. There’s pepper and the alcohol is prominent. Oak, roses, perfume. As said very sharp and strong. Sweet too with strawberry and blackberries. Very fruity.

Swallow:
The palate isn’t dry, but it’s very sharp. Sweet with lots of oak and fruit. Long lasting.

Initially I wasn’t sure what to expect, with Virgin Oak whiskies going all kinds of ways. This one worked out fabulously though. It is a sweet whisky, but there’s quite a lot of other flavors going on that make it very interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed it and wouldn’t mind having a bottle of this. Off to the auction sites!

88/100

Glen Moray 1996-2010, 13yo, SMWS (35.35 – Christmas in Morocco). It used to go for just under € 100, but that was six years ago.

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Yamazaki 1984-2009, 48%

Posted on 4 February 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

A while ago I traded a sample with whisky buddy BP. He’s a fanatic of Japanese whisky and kindly offered a dram of Yamazaki 1984. Knowing how good Yamazaki can be, and the rarity of the stuff at the moment, I wasn’t one to decline such generosity.

When this Yamazaki was released in 2009 I already found it too expensive for my budget. It was released for 100,000 Yen, which translates to about € 765 at the moment. About three times as much as I’m willing to shell out if something truly epic comes along. I prefer to spend less than that.

At the moment, according to Whiskybase the retail value is little over € 3000, although it sold at an auction a year ago for just over € 2000. Anyway, let’s keep it at the fact that it’s expensive.

The 1984 vintage was released to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Yamazaki brand and is made up of mostly Japanese Oak, also known as Mizunara (or Quercus Crispula if you want to get overly specific). The oak used makes this a truly special blend, even though a lot of Yamazaki is aged in that type of wood. It is not often that it is promoted that much and even the Bowmore Mizunara cask wasn’t solely made up of this kind of wood.

Image from Whiskybase

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
This quite the aromatic whisky. I didn’t even put my nose near the glass and it’s already making itself known. There’s sherry but not in a heavy way. There quite a lot of oak but not too much. I also get cherries and peaches, sherry vinegar, balsamic vinegar and old oak. Leather wax, furniture polish, leather, chalk. Somehow I am also getting Vinsanto, mint and almonds.

Sip:
The palate is dry and intense. Lots of oak and very bitter. Sherry, the juice of tinned peaches. Quite syrupy. Thick, aged balsamic vinegar with menthol and almond. Slightly fatty with leather and wax.

Swallow:
The finish suddenly has a lot more fruit with cherries, blackberries, apples. Also plum wine and some spices. Pretty long.

Luckily, I like bitter flavors. As in, I can drink absinthe and enjoy it. So the bitterness of this whisky is not a problem for me, and I actually love it because of it. My wife didn’t, even though she was thrilled with the nose on the dram.

Apart from the bitterness, this is a big whisky with loads of flavors and nuances. Quite layered too and I can understand this kind of stuff going for huge amounts of money. It’s insanely good.

While I won’t recommend getting a bottle, that’d be ridiculous, I do recommend trying a dram of it if you get the chance. It’s worth quite a bit of money.

92/100

Yamazaki 1984-2009, 48%. Check for it in auctions, or buy a car. You can do either for the amount of money you’ll be slinging around.

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Lochside 21, 1979-2000, 50% – Douglas Laing’s Old Malt Cask

Posted on 3 February 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Most Lochsides I’ve tried have been from 1981. Both Lochsides I’ve owned are from 1981. There are some older versions out there, but most of these were from before I was interested in whisky of this caliber.

Lochside is one of those closed distilleries that weren’t very popular for a very long time. Then, for some reason, every bottler out there started releasing 1981 vintages (that is an awesome year, obviously). Somehow, it seemed, that was when Lochside peaked, before dwindling into closure in 1992.

What’s even more strange, is that I’ve not seen any Lochside releases from after 1981, but still in the eighties. Have those all been blended away over the decades? Even on Whiskybase there are 60 releases from 1981, and only 7 from the rest of the decade.

Anyway, to me Lochside means fruity bourbon cask matured whisky. Fruity as in pineapple, pear, apples, the yellow kind of fruit. I like the yellow kind of fruit.

Image from Whiskybase

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Straw and a mountain of the well liked yellow kind of fruit hit me straight away. Apples and pear mostly. Some spices and some lactose, milky. Typical Lochside from 1981, with a hint of vanilla too.

Sip:
The palate has some bite to it. There’s pepper and dryness, the fruit comes back a tad later. Sweet apple and pear, and canned pineapple. Tropical and syrupy. Even a hint of banana towards the end.

Swallow:
The finish is beautiful and even more fruity than before. Apple, pear, pineapple, banana. Some straw too, and it’s long.

I cannot say this is a surprisingly good whisky. What I can say is that this is a really good whisky. It’s just not very surprising. It is exactly what I expected and hoped it would be, and the kind of Lochside that’s popular.

The fruit forwardness of the whisky reminds me of why the older Irish expressions are so popular right now, since this is a rare thing and these whiskeys are doing that too, but slightly different.

The addition of some spices on the palate and straw throughout makes this more interesting, otherwise it would have been too simple. It is a tad simple as is, but the high quality of what’s there makes up for some of that.

89/100

Lochside 21, 1979-2000, 50%, Old Malt Cask, Douglas Laing

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Port Charlotte 2004-2015 , 10yo, 50% – Caskplan

Posted on 2 February 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Caskplan is a Dutch collective of whisky fanatics that own some casks in Scotland. Obviously they plan to bottle those casks under their own label and have some awesome drinks available that they owned from the distillation date till the end.

A pretty cool concept and something I still like to try my hand at at some point, but which so far hasn’t happened yet. Especially the part where you can go to the distillery or bottler’s warehouse and visit the cask, as well as try a sample from it as it matures is something that I find very appealing.

But, to actually do something like that, I should stop buying bottles and save some money to buy a (share of a) cask. I suck at that. The slew of bottle shares proves that.

Anyway, they had a Port Charlotte bottled last year and I got to try it through Govert, one of the Longmorn collectors I’ve blogged about earlier.

Port Charlotte is Port Charlotte. The peaty Bruichladdich brand, but not as peaty as Octomore. Not much to say about it, except that it’s becoming more and more unlikely that that distillery is ever going to be rebuilt.

Image from Whiskybase

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
A heap of peat to start with. Smoke, straw and somehow, onion. Quite vegetal. It gets a bit sharper after a few seconds with more vegetable scents. Butter, warm and farmy.

Sip:
The palate is sharp and dry. Coarse even. White pepper and chalk, as well as sawdust, peat. A farm yard with dirt and straw and animals. Also, fried onions.

Swallow:
The finish is slightly fatty, but also dry with quite some oak, peat, smoke, straw and dirt. Quite long.

It’s surprisingly sharp for a 50% dram. I expected it to be more mellow. And where it lacks some depth and layeredness I did get from other Port Charlottes, the scents and flavors include that farmy bit which I love.

The smoke is present, but it’s not so prominent that it punches you in the face. Especially not after you’ve already had some other drams. Quite well balanced, apart from the surprising sharpness.

It’s biggest boon is the fact that this went for only € 40!

86/100

Port Charlotte 10yo, 01/07/2004 – 23/04/2015 , 50%, Caskplan 1, cask 912, Fresh Bourbon Cask.

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Glenmorangie Milsean, 46%

Posted on 1 February 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

For the seventh time Glenmorangie releases their annual Private Edition series. So far there have been hits and misses, and for me some unknown. The biggest success in the range was the Ealanta, I think. The Virgin Oak matured whisky was a rather pure dram and showcased the quality of the oak tremendously.

I’ve not tried the Companta and the Tusail, although I have a bottle of that second one. The one I liked least was the first one, the Sonnalta. That sherry influence didn’t do it for me, but it’s been so long I can’t really say why that was.

The Finealta and Artein were interesting, but forgettable. According to Glenmorangie’s USA website the Astar is part of the Private Editions as well and would make for an eighth (and tremendous) dram. So the summary is, it seems, that I like Glenmorangie best from American Oak that had either bourbon, or nothing in it before.

Let’s see where the Milsean ends up. Milsean means ‘sweet things’ and the whisky has been matured in bourbon cask and then ‘rematured’ (read: finished) in Portuguese wine casks. Could be interesting. The bourbon cask start should help, according to previous experiences.

Sniff:
Light, with lots of malt and candy sweetness. A touch of mint as well as hard sugar candies. A whiff of alcohol and more cereal notes as it opens up. Quite fresh and light, which I didn’t expect from something promised to deliver lots of sweetness. A hint of licorice, and chalk too. A tiny note of vanilla in the background.

Going back after ten minutes or so there’s a huge note of caramel fudge that’s developed.

Sip:
The arrival is very smooth and gentle. It does pick up some peppery hints, and those of red cinnamon after a few seconds. A lot of sugary sweetness coats your mouth. Marshmallows, malt, and again a fresh touch of mint.

Swallow:
The finish is very sweet again, but also has enough other flavors to be interesting. Pepper and cinnamon, mint, malt, sugar candy. Quite long. Not much oak to be detected.

To be honest, this whisky is a lot more interesting than I expected it to be after the initial press release. The wine notes are hard to detect and show themselves more in the form of additional sweetness and a different touch of candy like flavors than as more traditional wine notes. I think this is a good thing.

The cinnamon and mint notes make this quite an easy drinker but with enough flavor to be interesting for a while. It is quite a modern whisky which was created with a certain flavor profile in mind. An engineered whisky, so to say. Not that that is a bad thing per se.

The biggest drawback this whisky has is the price. In The Netherlands it’s available for some € 120 and that, I think, is far too much for this whisky. The UK is a tad lower at around € 95, and that’s a far more ‘correct’ price (not just because I’m stingy).

So, summarizing. A good and interesting whisky, but a bit too expensive locally. But I’ll gladly finish my sample!

87/100

Glenmorangie Milsean, 46%, Private Edition 2015, € 95/120. Check for prices here.

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What? More bottle shares? Again?

Posted on 28 January 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Exactly 36 days ago I wrote about left overs from bottle shares. While most of these bottles have not been emptied yet, I am already planning new ones.

I’ve got some things in the running at the moment that I would love to share. All this sharing is based on my love for booze and the inclination to keep trying new stuff and keep exploring the limitless world of fermented and/or distilled drinks.

Below is a list of stuff that still has room for more participants. Some of these shares are happening however things work out. Others might or might not, depending on whether or not they fill up. I’ll indicate which is which.

Mezcal

I found that one of the retailers I keep track of has a lot of new mezcals available. These fall under two different brands (from one company) and have two different approaches. Both sets are on my wish list, so I’d love to fill these up.

El Jolgorio

This is a brand that apparently does a lot of interesting stuff with single agave mezcal. The shop has four different kinds available, and an extra special thing called Pechuga. Pechuga is a kind of mezcal distilled with chicken or turkey breast in the still, as well as some other aromatics.

The single agave types are Madecuixe, Cuixe, Barril and Mexicano. The first two are harvested at 13 years old, and the rest is 10 years old. The production methods are all very traditional involving stone pits, wheels and donkeys.

Obviously they aren’t cheap since most of these agaves are old and wild. The Pechuga even crosses the 100 euro mark (and then some).

5 cl of each of these is € 42.50
10 cl of each of these € 80

This one is not full and will only happen when it is. Currently there’s 45 cl available.

Nuestre Soledad

The second set from the same company is called Nuestre Soledad. As you might guess from the name (if you have some feeling for language) is that these focus more on provenance than ingredients.

All agaves are Espadin, which is to be expected. The towns represented in Santiago Matatlan, San Luis Del Rio, La Compania and Santa Maria Zoquitlan.

Espadin grows a tad faster and is generally harvested after seven years. This is represented in the price.

5 cl of each of these is € 22.50
10 cl of each of these € 44

This one is not full and will only happen when it is. Currently there’s 55 cl available.

 

Whisky

Talisker Neist Point, 45.8%

The newest NAS release from the Skye based distillery. The official marketing blurb contains info about wide ranges of ages and casks. But let’s be honest. It’s a Talisker, which means there is a chance this is fairly awesome. The reviews have so far been mixed but with a tendency to be positive.

This one is happening regardless of more participants. There’s 15 cl available.

5 cl of this costs € 7
10 cl of this costs € 13

 

 

 

 

Black Bull 40, batch 4, 41.9%

A blend of whiskies varying from 40 to 44 years old. It consists of:

89% Single Malt Whisky
11% Single Grain Whisky
80% ex-Bourbon Casks
20% ex-Sherry Casks

The distilleries represented in the blend are Bunnahabhain, Glenlivet, Tamdhu, Glen Grant, Invergordon and Port Dundas.

This one is happening regardless of more participants. There is 10 cl available.

10 cl of this costs € 35

 

Inchmurrin 23, 1993-2015, 59.2%, Signatory Vintage

An indie Inchmurrin with a bit of age to it. Not much to say about it except that it’s from a Hogshead.

This one is already happening too, since the bottle is already on my shelf. There’s 10 cl available

10 cl costs € 18
5 cl costs € 9

If you’re interested in any of the above, please let me know. Also, there’s lots of other samples available from my personal collection. This might be interesting to make the most of your shipping costs 😉

Posted in - Blended Whisky, - Bottle share, Black Bull, Inchmurrin, Mezcal, Talisker | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Two new youngsters from Gordon & MacPhail: Glenrothes 8yo (MacPhail’s Collection) and Macallan 2006 Speymalt

Posted on 28 January 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Last week a sort-of surprise package arrived from Elgin containing two wee samples of Glenrothes and Macallan. Both quite young at eight and nine years old.

I was quite lucky there was anything in the package at all, since the envelope had opened and the only thing keeping the booze inside was the glue strip used for closing the envelope in the first place.

Anyway, I still haven’t reviewed any of the previous batch from Gordon & MacPhail’s ‘The Wood makes the Whisky’ campaign. Well, except that awesome 1954 Glen Grant that is. The other samples are queued. The unfortunate thing is that my queue is so messy and out of reach it’s a bit of a hassle to find the samples. Maybe this weekend 😉

Glenrothes 8yo, MacPhail’s Collection, 43%

Sniff:
Lots of spirit at first. Green, mossy tree bark. Freshly cut oak. A bit of burnt sugar, but without the richness of caramel.

Sip:
The palate is sharp and young, with some raw alcohol too. Spirit, that greenness and plane tree bark. Wet bushes. There is some sweetness but it’s only showing up late. Some vanilla and oak.

Swallow:
The finish is soft and again, recognizably young. Green, sweet with fresh oak.

I’ve never been a big fan of Glenrothes, especially not their official bottling. While this is not an official bottling, I don’t find it very appealing. It’s right at the point between maturation and being too young that the spirit has lost some of its prominence and the oak hasn’t had time enough to truly work things out.

Macallan 2006, Speymalt, 43%

Image from Whiskybase

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Some light sherry vinegar and pickled walnuts. I’ve had this Macallan profile before in a much older whisky. Light sherry without much wood influence. Maybe a tired cask? The spirit, which is still noticeable is quite rich and sweet.

Sip:
The palate is slightly bitter with nutty sherry, but also some sweet and sour flavors. There is fruit, but it’s thick and heavy. Dry, with a hint of oak shavings.

Swallow:
The oak is more prominent here, as are the walnuts. Rich, young and sweet. Fruity with a hint of vinegar.

This is a far more interesting whisky. The spirit is powerful enough to make itself known, while also leaving room for the beginnings of oak to show. Also, what helps is that Macallan’s spirit is fairly awesome. Big and rich, so to say.

I’m not sure whether or not I’m a huge fan of the pickled walnuts idea, but it’s surely interesting to taste something that actually tastes like pickled walnuts. Why would anyone pickle walnuts?

Anyway, and interesting dram, and since it’s Gordon & MacPhail and their Speymalt, it’s fairly affordable at € 40.

Thanks to Gordon & MacPhail for sending the samples!

 

Posted in Glenrothes, Macallan | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Armagnac: Baron Gaston Legrand, 1995, 40% (and a wrap up)

Posted on 27 January 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The ninth and final Armagnac from the bottle share is another Bas Armagnac, like the Laballes and the Tariquet from a couple of days ago. I didn’t overly like those drinks, even though Bas Armagnac is supposedly the better terroir for distilling the various grapes used in Armagnac production.

This Gaston Legrand brand is a fairly big one at the shop I was at. They have lots and lots of vintages which are still available and affordable, albeit slightly more expensive than the Saint Christeau that was the focus of the share.

First, the last review:

Baron Gaston Legrand, Bas Armagnac, 1995, 40%

Sniff:
The nose is slightly sharper than the older versions. Rich, full and fruity. Some chocolate as well. It lightens up quickly to a level that it’s almost ephemeral. It’s nicely balanced with even some grassy scents.

Sip:
The palate is slightly dry and sharp. Young oak and pepper. Sweet, but also volatile again. Slightly spicy and not really fruity as I expected. The chocolate flavor makes a show as well, but is very late.

Swallow:
The finish is dry, fruity and sweet. Grapes. Not very long and more like cocoa than chocolate.

This is a quite nice Armagnac. Not as nice as the ridiculously epic 1940, but that’s not fair competition either. I think it’s on par with the Saint Christeaus from 1990 and 1987. The Laballes, which I hoped to compare to this one are a lot less nice.

This one is more complex and slightly more mature than the young and spirity Laballe Armagnacs. The lightness of this Legrand spirit is the most surprising bit and makes for a nice change of pace compared to the big and chocolaty older versions.

I think what should happen next (not the wrap up below) is me getting some older Legrands, and maybe an older Laballe to see whether they correct themselves with age. I know Legrand does since my buddy Henk brought a 1964 to the Blog Birthday Bash in 2014.

Now for a complete wrap up, ranking and such.

By now it should be clear the 1940 vintage is my overall winner. I really loved that one and it had the right combination of idiotic age, punch and richness. But, let’s make a list.

  1. Saint Christeau Armagnac 1940
    Big flavors, very old age and the appropriate magic happening
  2. Saint Christeau Armagnac 1950
    See above, just toned slightly down a bit
  3. Saint Christeau Armagnac 1990
    Young and fresh compared to the previous two, but lots of interesting flavors and more punchy.
  4. Saint Christeau Armagnac 1938
    In a way the flavors were great, but it was all a bit too thin compared to what came earlier. I expected more.
  5. Baron Gaston Legrand Bas Armagnac 1995
    Younger, interesting flavors. More spirity without it being like raw alcohol.
  6. Saint Christeau Armagnac 1987
    Comparable to the 1990, but the less interesting one. So, in a way it’s skippable.
  7. Laballe Bas Armagnac 2006
    The tail end. This was the best of the worst.
  8. Laballe Bas Armagnac Réserve
    This one didn’t make any sense to me. I see no reason why you’d bottle this, except if the goal is to have something really cheap on the market. Even though it wasn’t that cheap at all.
  9. Chateau Tariquet Blanche Armagnac
    Well, this just sucked. Raw brandy. Not development, no layers.

General consensus:

Armagnac is cool but cannot and will not replace whisky in my book. Although I can imagine spending some more money on this in the future. A bit like the final result of the Mezcal bottle share early in 2014.

I might be on the look out for some slightly more mature ones than half of what we had here, although I won’t be spending anything in the hundreds of euros to get the 1940 vintages or anything. You know, the eighties or seventies were fine too, and quite affordable. Ridiculously affordable compared to what whisky from that era costs.

 

Posted in - Armagnac, Chateau Laballe, Gaston Legrand, Saint Christeau, Tariquet | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Armagnac: Saint Christeau 1950 and 1938

Posted on 26 January 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The Saint Christeau Armagnac was varying from 1990 back to 1938. I initially planned to stretch that time span further, between 1995 and 1934. Unfortunately these two were not available anymore and I settled for the others.

Whichever way you put it, a 1930s Armagnac either from the fourth or the eighth year of the decade is ancient. It’s from before the last world war. I have a hard time wrapping my head around the time this liquid has spent in oak. If I’m correct my grandfather wasn’t even of drinking age back then.

The other one in this review is from just after the war. It’s interesting to taste that one too, since what I remember from my history lessons is that the quality of products was fairly low in that period, since everyone was focused on rebuilding as soon as possible. Maybe the south of France was spared a bit. They did surrender fairly quickly, and Operation Overlord started a bit further to the north.

Saint Christeau 1938-2007, 40%

Sniff:
Initially it’s a tad thin, a bit tired. Even though it’s fairly intense still. The oak influence is lighter than the 1940 and the others. Fruity, but quite different than I expected. I expected bigger flavors. Slightly too light on the spirit, the oak, the fruit and all flavors.

Sip:
The palate makes up for the slightly lacking nose. Slightly hot pepper. Oak, dry and some red fruits. Slightly acidic too, and some bitter chocolate late on the palate.

Swallow:
Very dry on the finish and peppery. Slightly one dimensional though. Oak, and some fruit flavors.

It takes quite a long time before this one brings the flavors you expect. Even when it does, it stays a tad thin. It’s a shame. I’m not saying this is a bad drink, far from it, but the 1940 cannot be topped by two years earlier in oak and one year later to be bottled.

So, a good drink but not good enough. Quite harsh, right?

Saint Christeau 1950-2008, 40%

Sniff:
The nose is very light. There’s quite some oak, but not comparable to whisky of the same age, so quite light. Some fruit cake, some light spices. Chocolate. Lots of old European oak and dates.

Sip:
The palate, surprisingly, has a lot of oak. Old wine and heavy spiced cake. Slightly ‘over aged’. A tad thin, but still intense and peppery. Lots of fruit, red fruits, cherries and blackberries.

Swallow:
The finish is dry with lots of fruit and lots of oak. Long and some balsamic vinegar.

While this is still not as nice as the 1940, it is a close call. This one has big flavors with lots of oak, but it being a 40% drink and an old one at that still make it quite light. The chocolate on the nose is a nice addition, and the balsamic vinegar on the finish too.

A great one, this Armagnac. Big flavors, nicely balanced against each other. The oak is fairly forward, but that’s what you expect after almost six decades in a cask. Good stuff, and ‘affordable’ at not even € 250.

Posted in - Armagnac, Saint Christeau | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment