20/08/2020 Apéritif

Glen Grant 21yo b.1996 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, IF/AFF): nose: tinned peaches and apricot in juice, the lightest furniture wax and barbour grease, yet both are light to the point of being unrecognisable. Crystallised satsuma segments or mixed peel. It becomes fruitier and fruitier, with candied apricot, satsuma, kumquat, a spoonful of chestnut purée and fig jam. Later on, it takes on fresh pine notes, whilst remaining rather sweet; Suc des Vosges, pine-scented air freshener, bergamot foliage and polished pine cones. Mouth: soft and sweet, it has the jams and fruits from the nose; figs, satsumas, chestnut purée, but also membrillo (quince cheese) and a dash of shoe polish. The whole is very elegantly put together, with a mere smidgen of ground white pepper. The sweetness is extremely enticing, just enough to make it an all-night drinker, without ever becoming vulgar or sickly. In the long run, the pine freshener does show up on the palate too (flowering pine buds, needles and resin), but it is certainly a sweet and citrus-y journey, all in all. Finish: long enough, it harks back to the fruity jams of the nose, though it has a more distinct bitterness, this time: more pronounced shoe polish, probably. Hints of burnt wood, polished walnut, and mandarin peels, macerating in some kind of liqueur. In the finish too, the dram displays a wonderful, if restrained, sweetness that makes this something pleasant to sip forever. 8/10