Autumn has returned, with wind, grey skies and lower temperatures. Meanwhile, the Arctic and the Antarctic temperatures are dozens of degrees Celsius above the norm. That is not the point, however: the weather here distracts me from the fruity, low-ABV Lowlanders and Speysiders, and calls for something more robust.
Caol Ila 32yo 1975/2007 (58.4%, Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection, Hogshead, C#458, 221b, 7/1496): nose: firstly, you can smell it from a metre away. Secondly, it smells amazeballs. It is a cool blend of chocolate, liqueur, sirop de Liège, dry earth and salted kippers, and it turns more and more coastal as the sherry influences decrease; sea air, fishing nets, drying in the sun, a small fishing boats that reeks of diesel, empty plastic bottles of cola used as fenders on the ship's hull. Shrouding all that is a thin veil of cooking vapours, most likely a bouillabaisse on a petrol hob. Eventually, farm-y scents also emerge, and ploughed fields of rich, dark soil come tickle the nostrils. The nose even has a dash of India ink, soot and sheets of dried seaweed (nori). This is a journey I never want to end. The second nose has more dark fruit: blueberries, blackcurrants, dark raisins, all cloaked in a gentle smoke. Mouth: powerful and assertive, the palate sees an impressive knitwork of dark chocolate, dates so dried and sweet they are barely recognisable, some animal musk (wet cats), intertwined with petrol-stained dry earth and kippers in sea water. The texture drifts from thick and coating to thin and back again, and it shoots a few wood spices in the process (char-grilled ginger and lemongrass). The second sip seems a lot juicier and sweeter, even though white pepper, nutmeg and liquorice-root shavings also showing up, albeit in acceptable quantities. Come to think of it, there is a pinch of ground cloves too, aptly complementing the fruit. Finish: flat cola, stale dark chocolate, earthy embers. The death has the tray of a fireplace, full of grey ash and distant smoke -- distant, but recognisable. Soot, dry earth that reminds me of a crusty, desiccated field, and still a drop of petrol. Repeated sipping brings back some of the fruit, yet the finish seems more arid than the palate, in truth. It also seems less coastal: no kippers, no fishing nets. We find some coffee liqueur, dried dates and sirop de Liège, perhaps. It is very brown, that is for sure. It is also very long, and, if the different tastes are so tightly packed that it is hard to pick them apart, the overall impression lingers for an extended period. Stunning. 9/10 (Thanks for the discovery, JS)
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