pat gva invited JS and my good self to Switzerland for a gastronomical extravaganza and, in between two meals, we shy away from the outside world for a few pedestrian drams.
pat gva tells us to each select whatever we want to try from his boxes of treats. We barely manage to limit ourselves to fifteen or so. Once they are on the table before us, we take turns choosing one.
Caol Ila 1966/1995 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Centenary Reserve, IE/ADB) (selected by JS): well, we have to start somewhere, do we not? This is the most ancient Caol Ila I have had. My two companions confide it is for them too. It is difficult to find ones that have been distilled earlier -- the same bottler had two 1965, but that is it. Nose: leather, soot, cold ashes. pat gva reckons a freshly-emptied ashtray, whilst I detect cooked broccoli and a drop of shoe polish. Mouth: mild shoe polish here too, carried by wafts of carbohydrates, but also liquorice and plastic buckets full of soot. Finish: beef jerky, ashes and burnt leather, sweet shoe polish (whatever that means!) and gently farm-y notes. I love this. 9/10
Royal Brackla 60yo 1924/1984 (40%, OB) (selected by me): aye, that is the one of which they made only sixty-two full bottles. This is from a miniature, but that does not make it any more common. Nose: fresh and herbal, with window-sill planters of tagetes and dill. Next is smoky vanilla (pat gva), tarragon-y yoghurt, bergamot leaves and crushed, dried sage. This is so vibrant, after all those years! It makes me think of the really old Knappogue Castle bottlings, in a way. Mouth: quite fresh, with herbs (sage and tarragon first, then marjoram) and ether. Finish: meow. At 40%, it has the perfect balance, with herbaceous custard, camphor (pat gva), and a slight dryness. It is still led by the herbs -- verbena and sage, now. What a treat! For once, I wonder what it would be at cask strength. Must be the proximity of the French border... 9/10
Caol Ila d.1969 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice, b. mid-1980s) (selected by pat gva): there are a few of these in their mid-teens. This is a miniature, and those do not come with an age statement. I suspect it might be the same I had
a few years ago, of which I keep very fond memories. Nose: unmistakable pre-reconstruction Caol Ila, with loads of soot, charcoal, burnt tyre carcasses, all harmoniously presented. This is the 1939 German army: fantastically brutal, but clad in elegant Hugo Bass uniforms. It has got old ink, parchment and gentian for the best effect. Mouth: it is more mellow, here, though it remains big -- read: assertive, not aggressive. The mouth sees honey, burnt wood, ashes, chimney brooms, soot and a fishing trawler in the harbour, burnt to the hull. Finish: pat gva finds it very salty, I detect vague touches of honey, burnt hay and heaps of sooty buckets. This is amazing. It matches my memories and my expectations exactly. Still love it. 9/10
Springbank 32yo 1971/2004 (46%, OB, Refill Sherry Casks, 2400b) (selected by me): a famous bottling that, oddly enough, I have never had before. Nose: milky and herbaceous, it has almond milk and fern, dried fern, reeds, hazelnut skins, but also pressed grapes and rosewood (pat). Mouth: oily and mellow, it has almond milk written all over it. The texture is silky and gentle, though it is kept alive by a minute pinch of paprika. Finish: more almond-milk goodness, some grapes, grape pips and the associated mild bitterness. Superb. 9/10
Springbank 17yo (80° Proof, Cadenhead, d. ca 1957, b.1970s) (selected by JS): melon, yellow tomatoes, persimmon, dragon fruit, lychee -- rhaaa! It has some burnt wood in the background, but it is mostly fruit. Mouth: more fruity debauchery. It even becomes more exuberant on the palate, incredibly. Melon skins and persimmon shine particularly strongly. Finish: fruity too, it also has fresh tobacco leaves (pat gva) and Virginia tobacco. Well, this would require a lot more time to analyse properly, but at first encounter, it is mind-boggling. 10/10
MacPhail's 50yo 1937/1987 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, N°222) (selected by pat gva): nose: old hemp, old flannel, fresh linen and hessian, fresh out of the laundry. Funny how it goes from old to fresh fabric in twenty-odd minutes. Mouth: soft, fruity and earthy, it has some tannins and chocolate (pat gva), though I find it more drying that chocolate-y. Finish: fresh and spritz-y, it has candied ginger, dry rose-petal jam and a dash of ground pink pepper. Very nice. pat gva first declared it a Macallan, but JS and I think of a Dalmore more. So does pat gva, in the end. 9/10
Highland Park (70° Proof, Gordon & MacPhail, b.1970s) (selected by me): nose: OME in full effect -- pickles, vinegar, pickled onions. Let us wait a bit. After a while, black cumin appears, alongside nigella seeds (at breakfast, we discussed the difference between the two -- not the same!) Mouth: mellow, much more mellow than anticipated. It has jasmine honey and jasmine tea. Finish: soft and rather delicate, with the trademark Highland Park honey, though not much heather fire. It retains some black cumin, very tame. We all agree it is a quality dram, but it performs less well today than it could. 8/10
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| Black cumin seeds |
 |
| Nigella seeds |
Bowmore 13yo 1965/1978 (80° Proof, Cadenhead) (selected by JS): the dates are not written on the miniature; we deduce them from data on the big bottle. Also, they are meaningful to two of us. :-) Nose: Life. Rules. I giggle instantly. An explosion of tropical fruits -- persimmon, dragon fruit, lychee, snakehead fruit, papaya, pomelo, perhaps hints of carambola and raspberry vinegar. Bada-bing! Boom! Mouth: rhaaaaa! Perfect balance for this total fruit bomb. It gathers all the fruits under the sun. How the F- did they do!? Finish: sweet and super-fruity again, it has cane sugar, overripe mango, decaying persimmon, peach, rose-petal jelly and a myriad of other things. Another dram that would deserve spending six hours with, but I do not want to delay the evening and prefer giving in to emotions -- and boy! are they overwhelming. It is superlative. 12/10
Need a break. Someone has Bowmore eyes and how do you follow that anyway? We go for dinner at l'
Auberge du Chasseur.
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| Tomato-and-avocado salad (all) |
|
 |
Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru 1978
(mis en bouteille par Leroy) |
|
 |
| Omble chevalier et écrevisses du lac Léman (JS) |
|
 |
| Mrs. gva's whole lobster |
|
 |
| Irish lamb rack with aubergine mousse (pat gva and me) |
|
 |
| Creamy barley and home-made ketchup (pat gva and me) |
|
 |
Chocolate fondant with passion fruit jam and
a scoop of passion-fruit ice cream (me) |
|
 |
| Coconut ice cream with cream-filled chocolate croquant (JS) |
|
 |
| More post-bill sweets |
|
Caol Ila 1966/1995 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Centenary Reserve, IE/ADB) (selected by JS): well, we have to start somewhere, do we not? This is the most ancient Caol Ila I have had. My two companions confide it is for them too. It is difficult to find ones that have been distilled earlier -- the same bottler had two 1965, but that is it. Nose: leather, soot, cold ashes. pat gva reckons a freshly-emptied ashtray, whilst I detect cooked broccoli and a drop of shoe polish. Mouth: mild shoe polish here too, carried by wafts of carbohydrates, but also liquorice and plastic buckets full of soot. Finish: beef jerky, ashes and burnt leather, sweet shoe polish (whatever that means!) and gently farm-y notes. I love this. 9/10
Royal Brackla 60yo 1924/1984 (40%, OB) (selected by me): aye, that is the one of which they made only sixty-two full bottles. This is from a miniature, but that does not make it any more common. Nose: fresh and herbal, with window-sill planters of tagetes and dill. Next is smoky vanilla (pat gva), tarragon-y yoghurt, bergamot leaves and crushed, dried sage. This is so vibrant, after all those years! It makes me think of the really old Knappogue Castle bottlings, in a way. Mouth: quite fresh, with herbs (sage and tarragon first, then marjoram) and ether. Finish: meow. At 40%, it has the perfect balance, with herbaceous custard, camphor (pat gva), and a slight dryness. It is still led by the herbs -- verbena and sage, now. What a treat! For once, I wonder what it would be at cask strength. Must be the proximity of the French border... 9/10
Caol Ila d.1969 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice, b. mid-1980s) (selected by pat gva): there are a few of these in their mid-teens. This is a miniature, and those do not come with an age statement. I suspect it might be the same I had a few years ago, of which I keep very fond memories. Nose: unmistakable pre-reconstruction Caol Ila, with loads of soot, charcoal, burnt tyre carcasses, all harmoniously presented. This is the 1939 German army: fantastically brutal, but clad in elegant Hugo Bass uniforms. It has got old ink, parchment and gentian for the best effect. Mouth: it is more mellow, here, though it remains big -- read: assertive, not aggressive. The mouth sees honey, burnt wood, ashes, chimney brooms, soot and a fishing trawler in the harbour, burnt to the hull. Finish: pat gva finds it very salty, I detect vague touches of honey, burnt hay and heaps of sooty buckets. This is amazing. It matches my memories and my expectations exactly. Still love it. 9/10
Springbank 32yo 1971/2004 (46%, OB, Refill Sherry Casks, 2400b) (selected by me): a famous bottling that, oddly enough, I have never had before. Nose: milky and herbaceous, it has almond milk and fern, dried fern, reeds, hazelnut skins, but also pressed grapes and rosewood (pat). Mouth: oily and mellow, it has almond milk written all over it. The texture is silky and gentle, though it is kept alive by a minute pinch of paprika. Finish: more almond-milk goodness, some grapes, grape pips and the associated mild bitterness. Superb. 9/10
Springbank 17yo (80° Proof, Cadenhead, d. ca 1957, b.1970s) (selected by JS): melon, yellow tomatoes, persimmon, dragon fruit, lychee -- rhaaa! It has some burnt wood in the background, but it is mostly fruit. Mouth: more fruity debauchery. It even becomes more exuberant on the palate, incredibly. Melon skins and persimmon shine particularly strongly. Finish: fruity too, it also has fresh tobacco leaves (pat gva) and Virginia tobacco. Well, this would require a lot more time to analyse properly, but at first encounter, it is mind-boggling. 10/10
MacPhail's 50yo 1937/1987 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, N°222) (selected by pat gva): nose: old hemp, old flannel, fresh linen and hessian, fresh out of the laundry. Funny how it goes from old to fresh fabric in twenty-odd minutes. Mouth: soft, fruity and earthy, it has some tannins and chocolate (pat gva), though I find it more drying that chocolate-y. Finish: fresh and spritz-y, it has candied ginger, dry rose-petal jam and a dash of ground pink pepper. Very nice. pat gva first declared it a Macallan, but JS and I think of a Dalmore more. So does pat gva, in the end. 9/10
Highland Park (70° Proof, Gordon & MacPhail, b.1970s) (selected by me): nose: OME in full effect -- pickles, vinegar, pickled onions. Let us wait a bit. After a while, black cumin appears, alongside nigella seeds (at breakfast, we discussed the difference between the two -- not the same!) Mouth: mellow, much more mellow than anticipated. It has jasmine honey and jasmine tea. Finish: soft and rather delicate, with the trademark Highland Park honey, though not much heather fire. It retains some black cumin, very tame. We all agree it is a quality dram, but it performs less well today than it could. 8/10
Bowmore 13yo 1965/1978 (80° Proof, Cadenhead) (selected by JS): the dates are not written on the miniature; we deduce them from data on the big bottle. Also, they are meaningful to two of us. :-) Nose: Life. Rules. I giggle instantly. An explosion of tropical fruits -- persimmon, dragon fruit, lychee, snakehead fruit, papaya, pomelo, perhaps hints of carambola and raspberry vinegar. Bada-bing! Boom! Mouth: rhaaaaa! Perfect balance for this total fruit bomb. It gathers all the fruits under the sun. How the F- did they do!? Finish: sweet and super-fruity again, it has cane sugar, overripe mango, decaying persimmon, peach, rose-petal jelly and a myriad of other things. Another dram that would deserve spending six hours with, but I do not want to delay the evening and prefer giving in to emotions -- and boy! are they overwhelming. It is superlative. 12/10
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