Benrinnes 11 Pauillac Red Wine Barrique Finish - 56.2%
From the bottler
The Whisky Cellar is an Edinburgh-based independent Scotch Whisky bottler, selecting casks from its private stock at the peak of their character.
Bottled a parcel of several single casks at a time, each individual series under our ‘Private Cellars Selection’ label is studiously chosen to deliver a wide spectrum of natural colour, aroma and flavour.
“Unconstrained by age or statement of vintage, regionality or cask type… if our tasting panel love the whisky enough, we will bottle it.” – Keith Bonnington, Founder.
Benrinnes packs a punch at the best of times. Meaty, almost sulphury in character and highly individual among the Speyside malts. This whisky spent most of its 11 years of maturation in a refill hogshead but was ‘finished’ for a whole year in a stunning Pauillac Red Wine Barrique. This region of France produces some of the world’s best known and most highly revered red wines and it is no accident that some of the blackcurrant, cedar wood, chocolate and rich spicy wood smoke notes shine in the unique heavyweight dram.
Cask #311020, only 267 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Appearance: Amber gold, forms a thick line which slowly falls to create an inverted crown of thick, oily legs.
Nose: A little closed at first, bramble hedges in full fruit, chocolate liqueurs, cedar decking and a hint of scented woodsmoke.
Palate: Fruits of the Forest jam, honey, vanilla and a peppery heat. With a few drops of water a creamy mocha note appears at the expense of some of the spice.
Finish: Long, lingering notes of caramel mocha, dark fruit and a slight hint of pipe tobacco smoke.
Summary: Another very good Whisky Cellar dram, lots of dark berry jammy notes with just enough spice and wordiness to make it interesting. The bramble notes in the nose evoke memories of childhood, being dangled by the feet over a fence collecting blackberries without consideration for the implications if I was dropped. For me the finish is the real star of the show, long and lingering caramel mocha on the palate is always a delight. Water brings out more of that mocha and reduces some of that peppery spice whilst adding a little more creamy luxury to the mouthfeel.
Although it wasn’t my favourite of the tasting session, it had some very stiff competition and held its own pretty well. At a price of around £70 it’s decent value, especially if you’re already a fan of Benrinnes and want to try something a little different from the usual expressions.
Transparency: this sample pack was received free of charge for independent review. The author has no affiliation with the bottler, all opinions are my own and remain completely impartial.
If you would like to know more about The Whisky Cellar and their range of whiskies, please follow the link to the company website.
The Whisky Cellar whiskies are available at Master of Malt among other retailers, click the images below to be taken to their websites.
