Hi everyone,
Back to a favourite of mine…
Ledaig and wine should work, its worked before with the G&M Hermitage. It should bring out the meat and unami notes, melding with the smoke. For some reason though, it doesn’t always work and here’s two good examples with red wine and one with Moscatel because why the hell not.
More Ledaig on the way too…
Ledaig 2007 Chieftain’s Pomerol Finish 58%
Colour: Orangey-Redish
Body: Full
Nose: Don’t remember being impressed on first nosing but this is better. Ledaig through and through, meaty, pickled lime from the curry house, Ardbeggian notes, a lighter note if vanilla and soft floral oak.
Water: More funky, more of the floral oak and vanilla, some cheese? Moments of wet cardboard?
Taste: Soft arrival with lime juice and then big spices, cinnamon, clove, coriander, some sharp oak, then peppery meat, strong black tea, some vanilla. Lacking the oily mouthfeel of other Ledaigs.
Water: More intense arrival, much more of the wine, sugary with much less spice to it, more balanced and paced development but a sharp cherry note.
Finish: Long length. Powerful but not quite balanced with more curry paste, lime and spices.
June 2007-April 2018. Doesn’t quite hit the right notes. One of those whiskies that should pull all the right punches and doesn’t.
76/100
Ledaig 2003 Anam na h-Alba Amarone Finish 58.3%
Colour: Pinkish
Body: Full
Nose: Smoked fruit gums (if there were such a thing), earthy peat but a tad thin like the Chieftain’s Pomerol, small red berries, grapefruit and pomegranate.
Taste: Intense then soft, red berries, a little sour, orange, peat building up, earthy and mineral, granite, pomegranate, pickled lime.
Finish: Medium/Long length. Black pepper spice and raspberry fruit gums.
Bottled 2018 at 15yo, not sure how long the finishing was. This is very similar to the Cheiftain's Pomerol actually. A little thin for a Ledaig and not balanced with the wine like the G&M Hermitage. No meaty notes too!
76/100
Ledaig 2008 The Maltman 57.1%
Colour: Straw
Body: Full
Nose: A natural, musky Ledaig with a layer of green grape, slightly floral, butter, white pepper, sooty smoke.
Taste: Great arrival, crystallised lemon peel, lovely oils, sweet grape then buttery Ledaig smoke, more minerals and peat build. A subtle floral note hiding away in there.
Finish: Medium length. The peat goes quite quick but leaves soft florals, soft oak and a little spice.
Bottled 2018 at 10yo. A 4 month Moscatel finish. Interesting although it hasn't had a massive effect, leaving the spirit quite natural.
78/100
Thanks for reading!
Scotch Reviews #737-#739
Whisky Network Reviews #875-#877
Network Average: 75.1
Best Score: 94
Worst Score: 12
0-49 Terrible
50-59 Bad
60-64 Just About OK
65-69 Ok to Good
70-74 Good
75-79 Very Good
80-84 Excellent
85-89 Superb
90+ Magnificent
Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.
No comments:
Post a Comment