Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique

Kavalan, from Taiwan, has quite a few lovely single casks bottlings in their Solist range. This is one of those: the Solis Vinho Barrique – a wine cask. I quite like the bourbon and sherry versions, but wine? Those are usually hit or miss in my book. When I last tried one of these (W071210010) I thought it was okay, but not outstanding. But that was five years ago. Let’s try this one then. The nose offers loads of candied fruit from the tropics. Think mango, plums and some banana. Kumquat? Kiwi? Melon, for sure. The wine is clearly present, but far from over the top. So far, so good. Let me add some water. While it remains sweet, a very herbal edge appears with oriental spices and loads of green notes. Sturdy attack on the palate, but that comes as no surprise with such an ABV. The wine plays a supporting role, making this malt mostly about dark fruit and notes of cherries and banana pudding. Some almonds, cherries and coconut. Oranges by the truckload. Diluted it remains sweet, but becomes more spicy. More creamy as well. This is a swimmer. The finish is very long and spicy with a bit of sweetness at the death. With water, it remains very creamy throughout. Oh, yes, this is wonderful. Aromatic, tasty and mouth coating. Top dram.

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