Another mysterious, misty, mountainous, malty, mind-boggling Macallan.
The new stills in the large machinery were installed around 2017/18, so this
spirit was distilled using the legendary old stills. However, they already had
21 stills in 1975, so it's not that small. The new facility houses 12 wash
stills and 24 spirit stills, essentially running three parallel distillation
setups under one spectacular roof.
Nose: The nose is nice, with hints of maple syrup, date syrup and dark
honey. There are also hints of Yucatan honey, rum raisins and dark chocolate,
as well as soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, cooked plums and other dark fruits,
such as blackcurrants, blackberries, black cherries, black elderberries, black
goji berries and black grapes that are already fermenting — is this Eiswein?
There are hints of leather and tobacco, and an umami flavour as if someone is
frying dark meat.
Palate: Chewing tobacco, sour, like biting into old leather with dried
BBQ sauce. It's like a young but dense red wine from hot regions around Spain,
Portugal or South Africa. Or perhaps some Malbec from Chile or those dense,
tannic, deep purple Californian Napa Valley wines. There is some sweetness, but
it is totally suppressed by oaky, syrupy, winey notes. Some might say it's
almost undrinkable espresso, but others find it deep, rich and interesting. I
don't know — total failure or a big success? As always, try it for yourself and
form your own opinion.
Finish: Long-lasting with young tannins; wild, untamed and slightly
alcoholic red wines dominate. Refreshingly youthful, although old — but who
wants to die young anyway?
'Dying is banal. Whatever time I have left, I want to fill it with
nothing but cocktails and chaos." - The Boroughs.
91/91/92
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