Glenmorangie Companta Private Edition
WINE: Raisins and Tannin
0 388
Review by @Victor
- Nose23
- Taste22
- Finish21
- Balance22
- Overall88
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Distribution of ratings for this:
- Brand: Glenmorangie
- Type: Scotch
- Region: Highland
- ABV: 46%
Companta, gaelic for 'friendship', is the fifth Glenmorangie Private Edition release, following Sonnalta PX, Finealta, Artein, and Ealanta
Companta has been finished in a combination of wine casks from Clos de Tart and Cotes du Rhone
The reviewed bottle has been open for 13 days and is 90% full
Colour: dark for a malt, with a reddish hue
Nose: strong intensity of raisin, mostly, and also prune. This possesses a very nice balance of sweet and dry, but settling slightly to the dry side. The fruity flavours of wine are what dominate the experience. The wine flavours are mostly on the low side of the middle range in pitch, but there are a few very entertaining, and balancing, pitches here which are high soprano as well. To smell malt you have to look for it. A little water brought out beautiful floral notes of rose, but the fruit receded. Lovely
Taste: very grape-winey, and much drier on the palate than in the nose. Some sweetness emerges in a later wave to counter the quite dry initial greeting. Significant grape tannins are present. Once again, as in the nose, this is all about the wine cask finishing, which dominates this whisky in all respects. Palatal notes are mostly alto and baritone. There are some soprano notes, but fewer than in the nose, unfortunately. Drinking this could be seen more as a wine experience than as one of consuming barley-malt whisky. The quality of the grape flavours is nice, if you like a lot of tannin in your wine-d whisky. For me the tannins are a little heavier than I like
Adding water reduced and diluted the coherence of the wine flavours, and I do not recommend it
Finish: on a thick chewy very tannic block of grape wine skin. With water the finish is not great--like bad dilute over-oxidised wine
Balance: Companta is a very nice whisky which will appeal mostly to those who like their barley-malt to taste more like wine than like the grain barley which defines the drink as whisky. The flavours here alternate between crisp/pointed and rounded, with the wine always dominating. The nose is the highlight for me, both with and without water added. I don't like to DRINK this with water, AT ALL
As Glenmorangie Private Editions go, Companta is one I am always happy to drink, but one of which I do not feel the need to buy my own bottle. Usually I like my whisky to taste more like whisky than Companta does
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Lovely review! I finally finished my bottle (minus a couple of tasters squirreled away), and have had a few days to reflect. I was surprised by the extent of the dryness, and the spice / tannin notes. I was expecting something much sweeter. The Glenmo is really hidden in this one. I agree, this is much more about wine, much more so than their Artein. And the color! This whisky stains the glass with remnants. By that I mean, if there is just a small bit remaining, it will dry to a crusty brown...Sort of off-putting. While it was an interesting drink*, it is not one that I would buy again either.
*I actually envision a circle of people deeply nosing this, musing aloud "interesting..."