A small piece of Italian whisky history enclosed in a bottle: Silvano Samaroli and Pepi Mongiardino, two of the pioneers of independent bottling linked by a long association, both put their names on this series ‘Dreams’, dating back to 1999 – and they put it in pencil, as the label clearly explains. It’s a 1989 Linkwood aged for 10 years: now it’s in the glass, let’s wait no longer…
N: very fresh, fluffy, pleasant and cosy – first of all, it reveals slight earthy, mineral hints, not to be taken for granted in a Linkwood. The tones are slightly fruity, a little bit of lemon, yellow apple a little bit unripe, a vaguely camphorized scent…
P: we are welcomed by a first note of violet, slightly soapy, which makes us tremble at the integrity of the sample. Then, however, it snaps fast onto honey, mineral barley and a bouquet of fresh, fragrant flowers. We could dust off the notes of heather!, which are no longer mentioned in our unnecessarily verbose blog. There is a note of milk bread… and a bit of tangerine to fill the mouth.
F: long, honeyed and cereal-like, very clean, with a hint of tar to testify a very light but still unexpected peat; still tangerine skin.
A whisky made of delicate absences, however a whisky that makes you want another glass: maybe it lacks just a bit of grip, otherwise we would have screamed at the miracle. Simple, perhaps, compared to other selections of Samaroli and Mongiardino, but with an honest, elegant, enjoyable simplicity: 88/100.
Recommended soundtrack: IAMDDB x INKA – Leaned Out.
