Whilst studying in Besançon, I became familiar with, and particularly interested in, Burgundy wines. Indeed, I still have a copy of my sales and marketing dissertation on ‘les vins blancs de Bourgogne’ and, to this day, they’re the only white wines I see the point of drinking. Therefore, during a visit to the Glenmorangie distillery in July 2015, you’ll understand why my attention was grabbed by a basket of miniatures with the words ‘Burgundy Wood Finish’ on them. This miniature has been lurking at the back of the sample cupboard since then. Not forgotten; I’ve just been waiting for the right moment to see how the red wine cask finish has influenced the character of this whisky. Glenmorangie is very well known for its experimental wood finishes, some more miss than hit in my humble opinion. This whisky was initially matured in American oak casks and then transferred to Côte-d’Or barriques (225 litres); it was discontinued in 2007. Here we go…
Nose: old pencil sharpenings; strawberry laces; pineapple cubes; tinned mandarins; scented talc notes in the background; after a while, cranberries and blackcurrants start to appear.
Palate: thin texture; starts with a honey sweetness and turns drier especially into the finish; hints of cranberries and blackcurrants; for me, this is very much a tannin led whisky to the point where I struggled to pick out much more on the palate than this.
