Glenury Royal 1968 36 Year Old

Nose

Vivacious for its age; complex, full and deep. Perfume and fruit dominate at first, led by vanilla and parma violets, black cherries and cooked apricots. Behind them lies a leathery, masculine note leading into burnt sugar, chocolate and mint.Water mellows all. Perfume and fruit give way now to wedding cake, treacle and soft leathery aromas.

Body

Medium to full.Velvety and mouthfilling.

Palate

Pleasantly soft at natural strength. Smoky to start, then a scented and deliciously layered fruitiness that reminds you of a sandalwood box containing sweet treats - Turkish delight, dried fruits, black plum.Water makes the mouthfeel more waxy, even teeth coating.The flavour is gloriously mellow and agreeably balanced.

Finish

Polished leather and boat varnish, then more delicious caramelised fruit.

Nose

Very fresh, extremely fresh, astonishingly fresh. Lots of flowers from the fields, lavender honey, apricot syrup at first nosing, before it switches to bunches of fruity notes (primarily fresh pineapples, guavas, very ripe mangos). It keeps developing on old roses, gewürztraminer, lychee syrup, musk perfume… Both dried and fresh oranges.

Goes on with some distant farmy notes (can you here the dogs barking?), wet hay, bonfire. Also something mineral, chalky, burnt matchsticks. Not bold at all but very complex, with a very long development, and no signs of over-ageing whatsoever. Ah, yes, now I get a few waxy notes… Very delicate indeed.

Mouth

Lots of vitality! Sweet, creamy but nervous, bold but not invading, on lots of fruit jams with a very nice feeling of ‘acidity’ that keeps it perfectly balanced. Almost no traces of wood, right in Diageo’s current style. It gets very gingery, though, in a very nice way. Develops on apricot pie, cooked apples with caramel, herbal tea, quince jelly. Hints of tangerine liqueur, Mandarine Impériale, dried kumquats, roasted nuts (all kinds). A little nutmeg, cinnamon… Lots of oomph but always balanced. The finish is long, on fruit liqueurs and even a little rummy. Very, very good and amazingly young. Sure it’s not infanticide (yes, that’s an expression some use in the wine world) but maybe they should have waited another thirty or forty years to bottle it?

Score

92 points.