Waterford Gaia Edition 1.1
Quince
3 186
Review by @markjedi1
- Nose~
- Taste~
- Finish~
- Balance~
- Overall86
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Distribution of ratings for this:
- Brand: Waterford
- ABV: 50%
Mark Reynier goes further (or is that less far?) than Single Farm Origin. This Gaia, the first in the so-called Arcadian Series, is distilled from barley sourced at different farms. That undoubtedly explains why there are no less than 24.000 bottles on the market. Distilled in July 2016 and bottled in August 2020, so just over four years old. Again it is cut to 50% and bottled in those typical blue bottles. This time not a gold colored glass stopper, but a blue one. It's a matter of making a distinction with the Single Form Origin.
Young but pleasant nose on sweet malt and raw barley in combination with some floral notes and chalk. Breakfast cereals galore, upholstered with some vanilla and orange juice. Honey and dried apricots. Summary in fresh.
Nicely oily on the palate and immediately honeysweet but also very spicy. Quince, oranges – zest included – and dried apricots are wrapped in a blanket of cloves and white pepper. But it is nicely balanced.
The wood makes the medium long finish somewhat drying. It dies a sweet death on pear drops.
This is among the best stuff I have tried from Waterford so far (admittedly , I haven't tried that many). Thanks, Benny.
It's nice to see your review of this. This is the release I've preferred of the 4 or 5 that I've tried thus far and I suppose it's not unsurprising it should be the vatting of different farms that would work best. The blend of different styles of distillate/casks is more harmonious at a young age than the single farm expressions are currently, it feels less of an intellectual exercise and veers into something readily enjoyable.