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14th June 2019 |
Review of
The GlenDronach Port Wood, matured in
the distillery’s signature Pedro Ximénez
and Oloroso sherry casks for 7 years,
this was then followed by a second
maturation period of 3 years in port
pipes.
 After
a quick glance at the bottle and tube of
the new GlenDronach Port Wood you could
easily assume that this is a no age
statement port pipe matured whisky but
when you take a closer look it is
something a little different.
The GlenDronach Port Wood is actually a
10 Year Old whisky although there is no
bold headline age statement on the
bottle, it simply states in the smaller
print "MATURED FOR TEN YEARS".
As far as the bold "Port Wood" headline
on the bottle goes, this is not the full
story, the whisky has been matured in
the distillery’s signature Pedro Ximénez
and Oloroso sherry casks for 7 years,
this was then followed by a second
maturation period of 3 years in port
pipes from the Douro Valley of Portugal.
They could have called it 3 Wood, Triple
Wood or even Port Wood Finish, I can
only assume before tasting it myself
that the final 3 years it spent maturing
in the port pipe has had quite an impact
for the whisky to have been launched
carrying the Port Wood headline name. I
will know in just a minute when I pour
some.
Master Blender, Dr Rachel Barrie said:
"The GlenDronach means ‘valley of the
brambles’ in old Scots Gaelic. We are
delighted to celebrate this heritage
with a Portuguese twist on our revered
Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry cask
maturation, which uses the finest
Spanish oak.
"This extra maturation in Port casks
imparts a deep cherry wood colour and
enriches the layers of fruit in The
GlenDronach, with delightful waves of
Victoria plum, brambles and sandalwood
on the nose. Layers upon layers of rich
fruit flavour open up on the palate with
notes of roasted apple crumble and
gingerbread, developing into baked
orange and black cherry back-notes."
William
Morrison's Tasting Notes:
Colour:
I rarely mention colour but as it is
naturally coloured I thought that I
would and I can say that the whisky is a
distinctive rose gold colour, just the
colour you would expect a port pipe
matured whisky to be.
Nose:
Subtle vanilla toffee, sugared plum, a
touch of candied sweetness, fruity and
floral, a little orange blossom and
raisin.
Taste:
Chewy toffee, apple and raisiny fruitiness, delicate vanilla oakiness
and a lovely touch of ginger, some late
slightly zesty orange.
Finish:
Longish with oak spice, orange peel,
still a touch of ginger, it all slowly
fades into a gentle dry nutty oakiness.
Comment:
It has a slightly youngish feel to it.
With only seven years in the sherry
casks the GlenDronach's sherried
fruitiness falls a little short or
perhaps those sherry casks were a little
spent, maybe this is why the port wood
takes the headline billing although the
three years in the port pipes hasn't
quite made up for the sherry casks short
comings. Don't get me wrong it is an
enjoyable dram but falls a little short
of the GlenDronach's high standards and
it is a big ask at £60 for this 10 year
old when you consider the quality of the
whisky available in the GlenDronach
whisky range for the same money.
SMW Score
80/100
The
GlenDronach Port Wood is bottled
at 46% ABV, non chill filtered and of
natural colour, it has an RRP of £60 and will soon be available from specialist
online whisky shops such as
The Whisky Exchange and
Master of Malt
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