Bruichladdich
Bruichladdich Black Arts 4 1990 (23 year old) 49.2%

Bourbon/ Finished in a variety of wine casks.
Tasted: Sept 2013
The nose opens with a big hit of salty, herbal, Oloroso notes with plenty of coffee’d tannins, a little Sauternes-esque honey and sawdusty American oak. Beautifully balanced as the American oak notes begin to dominate. But, like I said it is wonderfully balanced by the winey red fruits, plums, satsuma, light treacle and with time hints of earth, salt, creosote along with some violet and white flowers. Wow this is just so sawdusty! It almost has me in mind of an old Glent Grant. All the winey notes are just a gossamer veil over the mature American oak aged ‘Laddie.

The palate is soft and quite winey to begin with, showing red fruit, plum, raspberry and prune along with a touch of dark toffee, treacle, malt an dark chocolate. The herbal Oloroso notes build pleasantly bringing some coffee’d tannins too. This is followed by bucketful’s of salt, mature honey and lightly sawdusty oak. Sublimely silky with hints of tar, midnight violets, walnuts, chocolate and sweet spices. The tannins begin to encroach and dry but the sweet treacle/ honey axis holds and offsets. Lovely length with the malt and honey notes becoming quite nutty and lingering. Stunning stuff and probably the biggest surprise of the year.