Port Charlotte Cask Exploration 12 -Tunn
Picked this up on a visit to Bruichladdich in April. They alway have two casks available for hand fill. One unpeated and one Port Charlotte. After trying them both I went for this one. Bottle 367/436 from cask 1739. A Barolo cask matured nine year old Port Charlotte.
Cask - Barolo
Region - Islay
Glassware - Norlan
Served - Neat, non-chill filtered, no colouring, 59.9% abv
Colour - Gold/Amber
Nose - Initial sweet syrupy nose i'm guessing from the Barolo (never actually seen, let alone tried it before). After a couple of minutes the smoke takes hold. Charcol, burning leaves, oily old shed where my lawnmower is. Nearly a chemical, tar like smoke. Not boding well.
Palate -Woah! Acrid smoke and alcohol burn. Needs water. After a splash becomes very rounded, ashy, cigar smoke like
Finish - Long, bit of oak, dry. Mouth feels like i've just had a large cigar
Conclusion - Initial nose of syrup and sweet smoke promised more than the subsequent taste. Undiluted this is a burny smoke bomb. I don't usually take water in my drams but I felt this needed it. Apart from the fleeting hint of sweet wine on the nose I couldnt pick up anything aftewards. perhaps i'm having an off night. When I sampled this at Bruichladdich it seemed much better than what I have experienced here. Perhaps being half cut when I filled the bottle explains it. I'll leave this for another couple of months and come back to it.
Score - 81/100
Slainte
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