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| Hello, that is certainly one of our (nearly) day by day tastings. Santé! |
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February 19, 2025
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Half 1
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After it was stuffed, you’ll bless your non-public cask
of Port Charlotte, with the much-missed Duncan
McGillivray officiating as excessive priest
(2002, WF Archive) |
A number of components must be thought-about.
First, when the Bruichladdich distillery resumed operations within the early 2000s, it launched a vigorous and welcome programme of promoting casks of recent fillings. Through the years, these whiskies—significantly Port Charlotte—have been launched onto the market by their homeowners, generally professionals, but additionally golf equipment and particular person fans.
In consequence, we at WF have discovered ourselves moderately overwhelmed with Port Charlotte expressions to style over time. We had been completely delighted, as we love Port Charlotte, however it turned not possible to maintain up with the tempo. |
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This led us to repeatedly postpone the Massive Port Charlotte Session we had deliberate for a while, particularly as increasingly more variations had been being launched, with some now approaching 25 years of age.
However the time has come! The one small situation is that we now have chosen round forty totally different Port Charlotte bottlings in entrance of us, starting from latest releases to a lot older ones. Relaxation assured, we’re not going to style them multi functional go—removed from it; that will be deadly! However let’s begin with one of many early vintages, lets…?
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Port Charlotte 9 yo 2002/2011 (63.5%, OB, Valinch Prediction, Château La Tour, cask #130, 450 bottles) 
No concept what this so-called “Château La Tour” is—in the event that they meant the 1er Grand Cru from Pauillac, that’s “Latour,” not “La Tour.” Who is aware of? In any case, it brings to thoughts the charming previous behavior of the Scots who, when wine cask ending first began taking on whiskydom, would spell the names of crus in totally nonsensical methods (Barollo, Sauterne, and many others.)… Color: gold. Nostril: not an overbearing pink wine affect, however there’s nonetheless a way of smoked strawberry tart with peat and charcoal. Nevertheless it’s not dangerous in any respect! With water: the peat smoke takes cost, and Latour or not, one cannot actually complain. Mouth (neat): grenadine syrup, seawater, and smoked water, with black pepper and moderately salty grilled bacon. With water: but once more, the peat strikes to the forefront, although the pink fruits and bell pepper maintain their floor. Massive pepper. End: very lengthy, even saltier. Oysters with cherry juice. I do know. Blood orange and Campari. Feedback: truly, not dangerous in any respect—oddly sufficient, it didn’t conflict an excessive amount of, although the color had already urged this wasn’t first-fill Bordeaux pink.
SGP:667 – 85 factors. |
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Whereas we’re with reference to wine…
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Port Charlotte 12 yo 2002/2015 (55.8%, The Whisky Barrel, Burns Malt, Gran Callejo wine, cask #1164)
Gran Callejo is a well-regarded Ribera del Duero, so we should always anticipate some pink fruit… Tempranillo forward! Color: white wine? Nostril: within the vein of the ‘La Tour’ however extra restrained, maybe much more complicated, with out that huge peat blast that blows your head off. Redcurrant, barley, shellfish. With water: a lot rounder, with custard and buttercream, then recent barley. The peat may be very civilised. Mouth (neat): pretty, very peppery this time, however actually extra on blood oranges and white and pink pepper. With water: actually good, however now we’re edging extra into the basic clashes of the peat + pink wine combo. End: lengthy, however once more, extra civilised. Bitter oranges and pepper. A barely camphory aftertaste. Feedback: not dangerous in any respect.
SGP:566 – 85 factors. |
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Port Charlotte 12 yo 2003/2016 (61.1%, Blackadder, Uncooked Cask, sherry, cask #622, 284 bottles) 
Color: caramel amber. Nostril: ah sure, we’re within the realm of old-school Laphroaig sherry right here, just like the 1974 OB for LMDW, and even these legendary Italian bottlings. This dances fantastically—it’s good, it’s huge. A Mars bar smoked over beechwood and peat. Sensible, actually. With water: a freshly opened field of Cuban cigars and heaps of charcoal. Magnificent. Mouth (neat): merely good. Massively smoky, filled with ripe figs, cracked pepper, and toffee. In brief, a correct powerhouse. With water: certainly, it’s good. Attractive chocolate truffles with pepper and bitter orange. End: very lengthy, with hints of tar—although, to be truthful, they had been already there from the beginning. Feedback: I’m wondering if there’s already a contact of optimistic OBE. Completely beautiful—give it 20 years, and it’ll be a star, like younger Ledaigs or PE from James MacArthur. Sure sure sure.
SGP:567 – 90 factors. |
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Port Charlotte 22 yo 2001/2024 (51.7%, Fortunate Alternative & Anchor, hogshead, cask #4130)
The primary classic and one from Downunda at that, hurray. Color: full gold. Nostril: totally pretty, in fact gentler now, with all types of small oils, ointments, and waxes, recent papier-mâché notes, a few tiny pink olives, and smoked kippers… It takes these ages for whiskies to develop their tertiary aromas in cask, and that’s precisely what we’re seeing right here. With water: menthol emerges, a slight terpene contact, seaweed on the shore… Mouth (neat): an actual bridge between youthful aggression and the knowledge of age (pure romantic nonsense, S.). In any case, loads of small inexperienced spices, seaweed, smoked almonds, shellfish, and tiny citrus fruits like recent kumquats or candied orange zest. With water: sure, excellent—I believe this could be the primary time we’re tasting a Port Charlotte this developed (in the perfect sense of the phrase). A contact of rubber and exquisite bitterness. End: lengthy, on salty, peppery citrus. Peppery artichokes within the aftertaste. Feedback: properly then, resisting Blackadder was no small feat—bravo! (With the voice of Hugh Laurie.)
SGP:466 – 90 factors. |
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Port Charlotte 16 yo 2007/2024 (62.4%, Dramfool’s Jim McEwan Signature Assortment, first fill Vosne-Romanée barrique, cask #5, 258 bottles)
Effectively, let’s play the pedant as soon as once more—Vosne-Romanée is in Burgundy, and in Burgundy, they don’t use barriques, they use ‘pièces’. Barriques are, for instance, a Bordeaux factor. However you’re fairly proper, it doesn’t matter within the slightest… Color: apricot. Nostril: now that is totally trans-category—that is pure winsky! The cassis and black cherries from the Pinot Noir reign supreme over this peppery peat, and in moderately excessive vogue. The worst half? It appears to work. With water: backyard soil, humus, tomato leaf, cherry stems, pink pepper, and blackcurrant buds. Mouth (neat): huge cherries, a great deal of pepper and peat, and a good bit of ethanol… With water: amusingly, the Pinot Noir appears tamed (we’re not speaking about ‘uncared for nun’, nor about ‘hare’s stomach’), however there’s nonetheless loads of smoked pepper and even a contact of black garlic. And we love black garlic. End: it retains shaking issues up, with inexperienced spices jostling on the gates. Small peppers, cardamom, juniper… It finishes on salted, smoked cherry liqueur with a peppery twist. Now there’s an concept for a brand new product (however please, don’t quote me on that). Feedback: a diabolical concoction.
SGP:666 – 87 factors. |
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These PCs are nonetheless a bit intense—no approach we’re tasting a dozen in a row. Effectively, time to innovate, we might use a few of them for “bonus” classes infrequently, including them as a second tasting sure days. It is the primary time we might be doing this, however hey, there is a first time for the whole lot.
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