Aberlour A'bunadh
Batch # 39
0 487
Review by @Victor
- Nose23
- Taste22
- Finish21
- Balance21
- Overall87
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The reviewed bottle has been open for 2 1/2 years, and is 40% full. I have been sampling from it from the time of its opening
Nose: sherry wine grape and dark fruit flavours, lots of vanilla, lots of wood spice, a little spearmint and eucaplyptus. Malt is mostly in the background. Nice sweet-dry balance
Taste: sherried flavours, mostly dry and sour, are much more intense in the mouth. They are composed of mostly bass and some middle pitches, including grape must. I do taste a little spearmint and eucalyptus in the mouth. This batch is tasty but a little rough-edged
Finish: long, strong, and ends sharp and intense, like burnt raisins. The finish is astringent, despite sweetness in the background
Balance: reasonable balance, drying out to a sort of crisp burnt dark raisin effect
With water, 1) the nose loses the mint, but gains some oak wood flavour, 2) the taste opens, mellows, and homogenises, and 3) the finish is mellowed out and is less dry
Batch # 39 seems very similar to me to the house style of Glenfarclas...typical Glenfarclas, not the best examples from Glenfarclas. The flavours of Batch # 39 have a wonderful delightful intensity, but I find them to have a few inharmonious edges. If this were a bit smoother it would be a 92-95 point batch for me, as Batches # 26 and 32 were
Very interesting review. I haven't tried the 39 but I have had the 36 and 38. Is it just my impression or did the mid to late 30s batches taste a bit young and rough?
I skipped from 38 to 44 (though I have a 42 in waiting) and found the quality and enjoyment of these later batches to be closer to what I enjoyed in the batches 32, 33 and 34.