Shame on us, no Glenfiddich on this website yet… It’s a serious misconduct, because Glenfiddich means “Scotch’s history”. And we’re not only talking about the past. The distillery is located in Dufftown, the real Scotch capital, it’s one of the most famous in the world and one of the most productive in Scotland with Glenlivet, Macallan and the brand new Roseisle distillery. It’s also the best selling single malt: 12 millions of liters produced, the 14% of the single malt market. Today we sip a recent limited release, one of the three 19 yo from the “Age of Discovery” range, dedicated to the glorious geographical discoveries of the 15th and 16th century. This is focused on Portuguese history and finished in Madeira casks from Henriques&Henriques, one of the best producers on the island.
N: the nose is “strange” at first. Not so fruity as you could expect and not so viney as usual Madeira finishes. On the contrary, there are a lot of nuts and dried fruits (a gorgeous jubilation of dried figues). At the same time, the typical pear note typical of young Glenfiddich is still there. It reminds us the moroccan pastries, with honey, almonds, nuts… It’s not a fresh nose, it’s bold but pleasant. Slowly the winey notes emerge. Whiffs of cinnamon? Really good!
P: rather simple, quite short, rather nice. The low ABV doesn’t provide a watery body but surely affects the intensity, rounding too much everything. After a good start with croissant taste, malt, dried fruits and sultanas (with buttery notes, too), everything fades too fast, leading to…
F: …a bleak and flimsy finish, with a vague note of fortified wine and vanilla.
A special nose, really intriguing and promising, is followed by a flat palate and an almost non-exhisting finish. We think that a higher ABV could improve it, making this dram great again. It’s a pity, because this experiment smells successful. Our valutation is 83/100. Ruben thinks this way and here you can find Serge’s judgment.
Recommended soundtrack: a wonderful song, tribute to a Lisbona’s district where some time ago we lost some neurons, Madredeus – Alfama.
