Glendronach 22 y/o - 1990 PX Sherry Puncheon - 249/604 - 50,8%
Photo taken somewhere in Stuttgart
When it comes to proper, long sherry cask maturation without whacking everything with wood, we see three distilleries that have driven this style close to perfection, namely: Macallan, Glenfarclas and Glendronach. The third one anually released a batch of Oloroso or Pedro Ximénez single casks which were at least great, up to stellar. Even if Oloroso Sherry is more to our liking, we are not worried about this upcoming fellow.
Nose
It's a whole delicatessen shop! We find sweets like Dresden stollen, raisins and sultanas, dried plums, medjoul dates and herbs like cloves or cocoa. The whole meal is also enriched by the distinctive hazelnut and almond creme. We also welcome deeper notes like old book leather, wet earth and melted butter. There is also a subtile paint and menthol note, that give it a fresh and thrilling kick.
With water: Getting rounder and sweeter towards milk coffee and molasses, reminds us a bit of some old Demerara rum. Pure elegance and sophistication.
Palate
Tons heavy body with a mellow and silky texture. It's almost a little bit dusty. See this as the most tasty dark chocolate from Ecuador, infused with Italian Espresso and peppered with crushed hazelnuts, walnuts and macadamia. It's tremendously tasty and well balanced.
With water: It's becoming even sweeter now. But no significant developpment.
Finish
The length and beauty is of a Verdi Opera. It's dry with that truly pleasant cocoa and espresso bitterness that is occupying the whole mouth.
Rating
One thing is for sure, the folks from Aberdeenshire really know their craft. They perfectly monitored the wood over this really long time and created a beautifully balanced, very rich and complex bouquet. The palate is a bit one-dimensional, yet the chocolate/coffee note is a real treat (complaining about first world problems!).
