All Glenburgie 1966 is said to be good, some truly outstanding. Most of the legends are sherried, but the colour of this recent 46 years old bottling by Gordon & MacPhail doesn’t indicate heavy sherry, at least not the Glenfarclas or Macallan level.
I was pleasantly surprised to see this was scheduled for the recent Fulldram Supertasting.
Glenburgie 1966
(43%, Gordon & MacPhail 2012)
Nose: juicy and fruity but quite delicate. Certainly not first fill sherry. Cut apples, banana, red berries. A little mint and eucalyptus. Hints of pollen. Subtle wax. Brown sugar. All of these flavours are right up my alley, but on the whole it’s quite light and not too expressive. It gets better after fifteen minutes, but still. Some tea and nutmeg as well, precursors for an oaky palate?
Mouth: yes and no. Lots of crystallized oranges. Apricots and berries again. Candied ginger and soft chilli. A little resin and some tannins indeed. All quite graceful though. Fades on smooth dark chocolate.
Finish: long, with some lingering sweetness and spices. Hints of mint.
Not the absolute stunner I was hoping for, but elegant and sophisticated whisky nonetheless. It held on by the skin of its teeth, let’s just hope they’re not planning to bottle casks like this as a 50 years old. Around € 400, still available in some places.
Score: 90/100