Auchentoshan 18 Year Old 1992 Murray McDavid Climens Casks

This bottling from Murray McDavid is gunned down by almost every blogger that I know for its bitterness and suphery traits, the broken marriage between the spirit and the wine. Climens is a Sauternes Grand Cru Classé. It was a bit of a gamble to open up this bottle during my last Toshan Birthday Tasting, for I had not yet tasted it myself. Exciting, indeed. Well, surely, we do get some struck match on the nose, but also some cough candy, caramel and red fruit. Cardamom and camphor. Some plums, banana peel, raisins and all the way in the back some marzipan and gingerbread. Admittedly it also has some wet paper. But to gun it down without thinking twice? If you leave it to breath, you will also get loads of overcooked vegetables, which is not nice, so pour it, sniff it and sip it straight away! The arrival is surprisingly soft, mildly spicy and sweet. Gingerbread, plums and loads of nutmeg. Halfway through the sulpher does rear its ugly head, but the sweet notes easily overcome this. There is a bittersweet note from agrums and even some chocolate. The long bittersweet finish does make you reach for a glass of water. It is a far cry from a good Auchentoshan, but I found it quaffable nonetheless. To paint a picture of a sulphury beast is not warranted, in my opinion. It actually appeared in the top three during my tasting and was hence aptly named ‘Revenge of the Blogger’ by the attendants of said tasting.

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