SMWS August Outturn–Micro notes

Just a sketch, as usual, and an indication of whether I think you should buy (if you were so inclined!)

13.46, Dalmore, Something sweet for a beekeeper, A

Nose – Lovely cereal and toffee balance, intensely honeyed and floral, backnote of musk and dandelion. With water, intensity remains but better poise, a little more citrus, extremely sweet and pastried.

Body – Herbal and wooded. Intense sweetness but balanced by wood and a slight peat note. Some overt citrus and wood spice. Rather good. More bitter with water.

Finish – Citrus, wood sour, stewed tea. With water, numbing, raw wood, some musk develops but doesn’t hold together at the end.

A bit young.

1.184, Glenfarclas, Few and far between…,  A⊕+

Nose – Sweet tobacco, pencil topping rubbers, sherried ?? Absolutely beautiful, fruity, balanced and darkly sweet.

Body – Intense, sweet and biscuit

Finish – Long, fresh, sexy and balanced

BUY

35.122, Glen Moray, Perfumed lady at a garden fete, A⊕

Nose – Beautiful floral toffee, dark oily and satisfyingly sweet. Clean, planed oak, coffee.

Body – Sweet, spicy, wooded and perfect balance

Finish – Spiced, quite long, beautiful. A little stewed tea at the end and unsettled but very good overall.

BUY

50.55, Bladnoch, High class luxury, A⊕+

Nose – Dark, complicated, the honeycomb middle of a crunchie (debate over what this is called –hokey pokey??), soft toffee, buttery flapjack, lightly herbal with parsley. Softly beautiful. Some chocolate.

Body – A little spice, acrylic paint, complex.

Finish – Lovely and gentle but a little short.

BUY

9.89, Glen Grant, Balanced and harmonious, A⊕+

Nose – Balanced tobacco (Marlboro Red), boiled sweets, fence, cherry and apple, a lovely thread of wax (floor polish). Just beautiful – the balance between sweet and masculine is spot on.

Body – Massively sweet, spicy and wood balance.

Finish – Long and fabulous, not cloying.

BUY

53.210, Caol Ila, Fantastic stuff, A⊕+

Nose – Islay perfection: dark, spicy salami, loads of toffee, ancient smoked ham, old bandages, burnt newspaper, green unripe pear. Exquisite.

Body – Spicy fennel, boiled sweets.

Finish – Long, ashen, balanced and excellent. Intense ashes.

BUY

29.157, Laphroaig, Heidi's holiday to Islay, A⊕+

Nose – darkly peated, loads of sulphur, ham and mozzarella, parsley and rolling tobacco. And massive sherry peat!

Body – Massive ash, peat and hugely sweet. Burning logs, sherry, sulphur and ash. Still balanced.

Finish – Long, sweet, a little vegetal.

BUY

39.101, Linkwood, Sophisticated adult sweetness, A+

Nose – Golden, sweet berries, honey toffee, remarkably sweet, very balanced but a bit one dimensional.

Body – Toasted oak on top of the sweetness and balanced.

Finish – A little cloying at the end, but seriously drinkable. Very oily, quite balanced before that.

121.73, Arran, A layered sponge fruit cake, A+

Nose – More beery than normal, more cherries and tobacco

Body – Immense toffee Finish – A little odd savoury edge

44.60, Craigellachie, Growing on you, A⊕

N – perfumed, flower stalks, floral and lovely

B – Sweet tobacco, beautiful

F – Lovely and long, marshmallows

BUY
 

26.103, Clynelish, Fresh and Lively, A⊕

Nose – Bold, intense, wooded, balanced by restrained sweetness and tobacco.  Stunning Clynelish.

Body – Delicious toffee and tobacco, extremely sweet.

Finish – Long, tobacco, fab. 

Light on the nose, epic delivery, quite dry, sappy and tannic.

BUY

53.184, Caol Ila, Fairground on the beach, A⊕

Not from the August outturn.

N – dark and rich, toffee smoke, b – sweet and ashen, f – long

BUY