[46.0%・16 Years Old・Bottled in 2008・Official Bottling・Limited Release]
Nose:
Floral with a buttery undertone, some early French oak notes as the mellow citrus wraps around a wine cask inspired strawberry creaminess. Slight smoke in the background with an inviting brie cheese note.
Palate & Finish:
Red apples with black cherries and packing some spices. Dark chocolate with a gummy apple centre. The juiciness extends with cinnamon and nutmeg entering into the mix before a mild lager note surfaces.
A medium finish with the malt being greeted by the drying tannins.
Thoughts:
The Cuvée C is quite clearly a wine cask. Though arguably the wine influence only shaped the surface and in fact the presence of the French oak played an equally vital role contributing to a lot of underlying characters.
In spite of its obvious cask influences, in my opinion this would perhaps fare even better if it were more wine-orientated. The flavours are enticing enough but the dram falls just short of providing that submersing experience some great wine casks offer.
✓
-Nicholas
WhiskNick 