Over the next couple of days, I’ll have a look at this year’s GlenDronach single casks. They’ve been bottled in June 2010 but they’re still not available in most countries other than the UK. I’ve thought about a suitable order and I decided to taste them in pairs. The first pair consists of the younger oloroso casks distilled in 1990 and 1993.
Have a look at the 2009 batch of single casks if you wish to compare.
GlenDronach 20 yo 1990 (57,9%,
OB 2010, oloroso sherry butt #2621,
546 btl.)
Nose: quite a fragrant kind of sherry. Hints of sweet honey and oak polish. Red mosto (grape juice) and sour oranges. After that, a very classy nuttiness starts to grow stronger (walnuts, some roasted coffee beans, almonds). Evolves on dark chocolate. There are undertones of matchsticks as well, but they’re actually quite nice and seem to come and go (with some water they simply disappear). Some mint. Hints of leather. Quite complex!
Mouth: starts fruity (figs, dates) with hints of cherry liqueur. Again (clean) matchstick notes. Old oranges. Nice mocha and chocolate truffle. A few drops of water highlights walnuts and almonds.
Finish: nice finale on coffee and nuts. Quite long.
This GlenDronach 1990 has multiple personalities. It shows a typical nutty sherry but also fresh fruits and hints of matchsticks that we associate with some Karuizawas. I like it, also because it’s interesting to play around with water. Around € 100.
Score: 86/100