Mortlach 1971 32 Year Old

Nose

Complex, light and soft. Oiled wood and leather books at first, then green bananas and Demarara sugar, melted over vanilla ice cream. Some peaty smokiness. Also, a dusty and waxy note.With water the waxy note rises, now more perfumed – soft leather, make-up compact, Parma violets, silk.

Body

Firm. Smooth mouth-feel.

Palate

A complex of primary tastes – perfume and spice notes (vanilla), a light, malty sweetness throughout (not cloying) with a little acidity, and then a woody, smoky dryness. A deft interplay persists - none of the flavours is willing to lose the initiative.The subtlety is lost if too much water is added.

Finish

Long, dry, with a hint of hard liquorice and late pepper. Fruity aftertaste.

The nose is more discrete than the Glen Ord 25yo, but more complex and delicate. Extremely floral for such an old malt, again there seems to be little wood influence. Lots of meadow flowers, buttercup, pollen. Hints of farmy notes, wet dog. A little yeasty, with some notes of porridge, green bananas, hot milk. Very complex! It goes on with some acacia honey, and a bit of coconut milk. Very elegant.

The mouth is creamy, sweet, getting very gingery with lots of white pepper and nutmeg. Now I can feel the wood’s influence. Goes on with some light caramel, honey. Really splendid, complex and subtle… The finish is long and quite peppery. A winner, no doubt. 92 points.