Benriach 1985 28 YO Virgin Oak

The reviewed sample was provided with many thanks to @maltster. This is a peated malt using new oak. I do not know in advance whether the oak has been toasted or charred, though I have to assume that it has been toasted rather than charred so as not to overwhelm the flavours of barley-malt

Colour: medium dark, rather dark for Scottish malt; no doubt this has much to do with 28 years of new oak influence

Nose: very refined, very pointed, very beautiful high-pitched grape-wine flavours; soft barley showing a little grassiness and just a slight hint of citrus. Peat here? Just a hint. This is an elegant and delicate malt whisky. Very beautiful

Taste: this is very full in the mouth, much fuller and sweeter than in the nose; the sweet wine flavours are strong in the mouth, with the barley quite tastable but less so than are the fruity wine flavours; the new wood influence is quite obvious, and this tastes quite different with respect to the wood flavours than do other more standard Scottish malts using re-used wood. This wood here is noticeable but not overbearing...this MUST be toasted oak and not charred oak. 28 years of charred new oak aging would result in the wood flavours completely overrunning everything else. Peat influence remains very subtle and secondary. Very nice, though not quite equal to the nose

Finish: the wood flavours and sweetness become much stronger into the finish; the very end is of sweet wine predominantly; peat influence remains minor

Balance: this is a very delicious whisky, but the balance is good, but not great. Sweetness gets the upper hand starting on the palate, and wine and wood flavours are aggressive at the end, just a bit more than would be ideal. Is this Benriach 1985 28 YO peated New Oak Malt desirable to drink? Absolutely!

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