03/09/2021 Macduff

Macduff 12yo 2008/2020 (55.1%, CWC The Electric Coo Series, Sherry Butt): nose: oily nut spread on warm toast, before a wine-y wave takes over. Then, it is fortified wine, drinks cabinets, nut liqueurs, yet also oily exotic woods, teak and mahogany, redwood and sequoia. There is a subtle hint of coffee in the background, and rain water, stagnating in a hard-plastic tank. The second nose gives more-straightforward liqueur. It remains nutty and oily, but that takes a back seat, now. In fact, it is borderline brandy-like, at times. After an eternity, Macduff's trademark earthiness peeks through, timidly, with rich soil, in the distance. Mouth: roasted cereals, caramelised rice, coffee beans, and a substantial amount of wood too. We have spices (cinnamon bark, black cardamom pods, cloves), as well as varnish and furniture polish. That wood brings a softly-bitter note, which, again, hints at faint coffee. The second sip dials up the oily-wood touches, back to mahogany and teak, maybe even iroko, now. In the long run, roasted cocoa beans rock up. Finish: assertive, spicy without being hot, earthy and chocolate-y. This bold, long finish has as much wood as the mouth, if not more. The spices are now familiar (cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorns, cardamom), but the earthy touch and the bold chocolate are new; and it is cocoa beans being roasted and oozing oil, here, more than hazelnut paste. Repeated sipping makes it become sweeter, though it retains the spiciness. A good, rather full-on wine-cask maturation. I could go to 8 (I did, last time), but today... 7/10