ARDMORE 36 ans 1985 Sherry Cask Antipodes Gordon & Macphail

Description Tasting Notes Colour : Bright gold. Nose : Rich, heady. On the first nose, scents of rooty and empyreumatic peat (sleet, soot) rub shoulders with vanilla, lemony and medicinal notes (Velpeau band, poultice) of very pure expression. Allowed to breathe, the aromatic palette becomes increasingly mineral (schist, charcoal, basalt), saline and at the same time creamy (barley porridge, rice cake). Then, essential oils (savory, rosemary, sage) and spices (star anise, clove, nutmeg) intermingle with fresh fruit (Williams pear, Golden apple). Palate : Clean, full of vitality. Finely liquoricey (stick) and oily (green olive), the attack on the palate develops into candied (lemon, pineapple, pear) and herbaceous (green barley, cut hay, alfalfa) flavors. On the mid-palate, notes of barley sugar and anise deeply permeate the taste buds. The finish is minty, very slightly earthy and rooty (gentian, genepi). Finish : Long, dense. Anchored in a soil full of mineral salts, the start of the finish is supported by a remarkable chocolate and malty bitterness. In the aftertaste, the pungent flavors of a burning cigar float in an atmosphere increasingly saturated with intense smoke and eucalyptus notes. The retro-nasal olfaction is malty, peaty (dry peat), medicinal (balm), vanilla and lemony. The empty glass leads us right into the middle of a spray-swept peat field.