BENRIACH 12 YO 2007 Peated Sherry PX

Speyside Single Malt – 56.2%, 70cl
Single Cask #3946 – Pedro Ximenez Cask
Limited Edition of 650 bottles
LMDW Exclusive

It was in 1972 that Benriach first began producing a peated single malt. Its malting floors closed in 1998. But in 2013 it began very sporadically malting part of its own malt again. If we had to sum up this 35 ppm bottling in just one word, it would undoubtedly be “elegant”. Elegant in the incredibly pure expression of its spirit, elegant in its wonderfully complex fruit, and elegant in its peat imbued with deep sophistication right down to its notes of hydrocarbon. Magnificent.

Colour: vibrant golden yellow.

Description

fine, fresh. A rooty, salty and oily peat provides lots of nuance to the initial nose. Allowed to breathe, it takes on milky (coconut), fruity (apple, pineapple), floral (lily of the valley) and roasted (coffee) tones. Gradually, beeswax, acacia honey and fresh walnut coat the taste buds. At this point, the aromatic palette evokes an iconic single malt from the south-east of Islay.

lively yet creamy. The same oily and earthy peat drives an extremely delicate attack on the palate. The same attack is both very exotic (passion fruit, mango) and chocolatey. On the mid-palate, notes of black olive, smoky bacon and smoked salmon highlight the earthy, maritime character of this Benriach. Heady florals (broom, mimosa, iris) beautifully punctuate the very end of the palate.

long, rich. At the start of the finish, soot coats the palate. It brings with it light particles of hydrocarbon (diesel). Note that malted barley now plays a leading role in the development of the flavour palette. On the retro-nasal olfaction, its wonderful bitterness brings out herbaceous (sage, chervil, bay leaf), fruity (Mirabelle plum, greengage plum), vegetal (straw) and liquorice notes. As well as being oily, fishy and gamy (Viande des Grisons), the empty glass very clearly evokes gentian root.

Buy now