Kilchoman Red Wine Matured

This special edition from Kilchoman has matured on red wine casks from the Douro region in Portugal, best known for its port wines. It is the first time that Kilchoman used this type of cask for maturation. The spirit was put to sleep in July 2012, so this single malt is 5 years old. It was cut to 50%, which is a good thing (not being any lower, I mean).

Dark & sweet nose on cooked red fruit with some brown sugar in the mix. Earthy notes dominate, followed by some milk chocolate and wet wood. A lot of wet wood, actually, that has started decomposing. Sounds terrible but works fine for this Kilchoman that also sports a salty edge, albeit in the background. No trace of the citrus notes that are so typical for Kilchoman.

The body is fine, while the arrival is extremely sweet. Red fruit up front, followed now by loads of citrus after all. Blood oranges, bergamot and lime. Some burnt wood emerges, without being a nuisance. Some roasted nuts appear in the background. Peat is present without dominating.

The finish is medium long, peppery, salty and sweet at the same time and simply delicious.

This release is almost as good as the cask sample I tried before. Lovely Kilchoman, although probably not for everyone. Around 120 EUR, which is not cheap, but you get a very nice malt in return.

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