14/10/2022 Tomatin

Tomatin 18yo d.1976 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#27643): nose: this is wonderful berries jam, lush, sweet, and rich. We have figs, strawberries, and cranberries meeting the cleaning agent used on Calmac ferries. Pear compote, baked quince, membrillo, and stewed peaches are next, introducing polished dashboards and lacquered buffets. There is a whisper of dunnage warehouse, too, full of ex-wine casks, a not-much-bolder air of drying paint, a newly-lacquered bench at the other end of the warehouse, and a glass of tawny Port. The second nose has some kind of fertiliser that my grandfather used in his greenhouse -- he kept it in a yellow-and-blue spray can, not that it helps identify the content. Anyway, that is all easily eclipsed by fruit jams. Mouth: it is all ashy clay floors, wood lacquer and nail varnish, for a second, then the expected fruitiness takes over. It is not exuberant, nor frankly tropical, yet it is elegant nonetheless. Roasted blackcurrants, baked figs, yellow-tulip petals and blueberries. It becomes livelier with the next sip, with a fruity acidity that could easily be confused for plant bitterness. It does indeed turn to unripe passion fruit, or green maracuja (they do exist), with chopped carambola added for good measure. Finish: lovely caramelised jams through and through, so caramelised, in fact, that it is borderline root-y or rubbery. Let us call it nigella seeds on caramelised jams. And what jams! Figs, cranberries, currants, dark cherries, blueberries, as well as date relish. It is a lasting finish, although not a particularly powerful/invasive one. The fruits recede to leave mostly an earthy, rubbery side, gently bitter, and pretty drying. Grape pips end up in the picture too, reinforcing that impression of bitterness. The second sip is more openly fruity, flirting with exoticism, and comes close to unripe star fruit and guava. Emphasis on 'unripe': it keeps the bitterness of cold coffee. I wonder if this degraded in the open sample: it is good, yet I expected (and remembered) more of it. It does reward patience, though, what with more fruit coming out. 8/10