07/10/2022 Convalmore

Convalmore 16yo 1981/1997 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#89/604/112): I had kept this one to try alongside C#1538, then obviously forgot. Ah, well. Nose: a delicate, floral, almost ethereal nose, at first, with primrose, pansies, and forsythia, it soon pulls in plasticine, as well as leafier, waxier plants (peace lilies, monstera deliciosa). It is not long before all that turns drier, with desiccated bunches of flowers, pot-pourri, and Scottish gift shops, with their smells of candles, heather and faded tartan plaid. The second nose has unripe citrus (mandarin, tangerine, lime), and citrus foliage, not very fragrant, and covered in dust. It does wake up a tad, after a while, and oak-smoked pomelo and lime slices appear, alongside a drop of brine. Mouth: gently drying here too, the whisky takes a bitter turn on the tongue, with vine leaves, ivy leaves, black olives or tapenade, and a vaguely-soapy lick. Underneath that, flowers remain, and there are clearly some fruits, though too tame yet to identify them (unripe apples, maybe?) The second sip confirms what the nose suggested: oak-smoked green-citrus slices, oroblanco, combava, or lime. The leaves are present too, to a lesser extent, and, after a minute of keeping the whisky on the tongue, some mocha chocolate. Finish: bitterness, fruit, and leaves, all subtle. Clearly, we have unripe mandarins with their foliage, lime-onade in which lime leaves have soaked, Kaffir lime leaves, vine leaves... Boy! it is quite leafy, now. The next gulp adds mocha-flavoured chocolate and mocha toffee. It retains some citrus-y fruitiness, especially noticeable on the edges of the tongue, but that truly plays second violin  to the mocha touch that now enjoys the spotlight. Further sips are a different story again, however: lime-and-milk-chocolate PiM's steal the blanket. I had this as a 7, at first sip, thought it was an off day, and found it dishonest to go higher, but it actually grows better with each sip. In line with my impression, a year-and-a-half ago. 8/10