Glendronach 10 Year Old Port Wood
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- We take a look at the new ten year old oloroso matured and then port finished ten year old from Dave's favorite distillery. We've seen a lot of port finishes over the years. Some good, and just as many bad. But of all of them this is probably the most understated and "sensible" example.
A very fair review. I agree with you regarding the hit and miss of Port Pipe finishes. I put it down to whether they are First or Second Fill. A First Fill Sherry butt, custom ordered from Spain can cost around £1,000 for something seasoned for around 2 years. Note that 99% of Sherry casks used in the SWI are these custom ordered sherry casks, that is, they have NOT been used to mature real drinking sherry in the bodegas. Most sherry used to season Whisky Sherry casks are poured out in Spain and used to make Wine vinegar!!!
Now 550 -600 L Port Pipes are a different story. They have actually been used in the Port industry to mature port for a number of years and are impregnated with thick sweet high alcohol port right through the wood, so much so that the surface of the wood has gone all soft and soggy from the heavy syrupy wine. These casks cost an absolute fortune.
The First-Fill Port Pipes are only used for finishes as the port influence would be so overpowering, you will not be able to taste anything else except the prunes, dates, figs and plums of the port, completely wiping out the more subtle flavours of the malted barley. Moreover, the distillery wants to maximize the the cask's usage to use it again, sometimes up to three or four times.
Second-Fill Port Pipes are often used for full maturation (as well as for finishes) as they have now lost some of their potency. Port Pipes can then be shaved back and toasted to reveal yet more port trapped within wood.
Here in Israel, we make (Kosher) port style wine (we cannot call it Port) from 225 L French Oak casks. Because they are half the size of the Portuguese version the wood interaction will be double to start with. Added to that the extreme temperature differences between summer and winter here in Israel when it can reach 38 Degrees Celsius in the summer down to 0 Degrees in the winter produces incredibly rapid maturation, and again, the wine influence will be overpowering. Hence, in the Golani distillery in the Golan Heights, they Shave back, Toast and then Char the casks before use in order to subdue the wine flavour and add some soft toffee wood flavours. It is a real skill working with port casks.
Great review! Yay! You took a break from beer, rum, and other things and went back to a good quality single malt scotch that I might actually consider buying. Well done!! Personally, I tend to favor cask strength independent bottlings of Scottish whisky. That's how I get the most bang for my buck :) Australia and New Zealand can get some nice unusual bottlings. Adelphi is still down there and gone most other places. Ditto with some lovely single cask bottlings of Longrow. Take care, and if you need any samples, let me know. I have some good bottles open right now.
My local big liquor store gave up on this. They were $95 USD and sat on the shelves for years. They dropped them to $72 and they started flying off the shelves. If they’re still there I hope to get a bottle.
Hi guys solid review. I’m with you on port finished whisky this is definitely a sensible one, I enjoyed my bottle while it lasted. You gotta love glendronach however I’ve never been a fan of the 12. I got myself an 18 after not having one for a couple of years and I’m pleased to report it’s just as great as it’s always been. All the best.
Have not been totally convinced by port finishes either
Better or worse than the quinta ruban 14?
Very different styles, but the Glendronach has the more well integrated port finish for sure.
"that's whiskey confidence" - well said Tim! One day, I intend to add a splash of port into a bourbon-barrel finished whisky to see if the results are comparable to a barrel aging. I suspect it might be present, but not integrated as you two observed with the 14y.
Appreciate all the reviews. Aids my whiskey journey. Keep up the great work
there is a second maturation of the glendronach port wood . you can read it on the labels "enriched".
Not sure what this bottle sells for, but it's hard to beat Glenmorangie 14 (or 12 if you can still find it) when it comes to quality, availability & price.
The obscured age statement on this Glendronach might be laying the groundwork for a NAS bottling if need be. Cheers!
Would you agree that any malt finished in a secondary cask for more than 3 years should be referred to (or labled) "Double Matured"?
That would be very dependent on the age of the first maturation. But I would like to see three years as a 'minimum' for the 'double matured' term to be used.
@@TheSingleMaltReview I'd say that two 3-year maturations (i.e. two full-term maturations) would suffice.