I will review a couple of Signatory Vintage bottlings, released for their 30th anniversary a couple of months ago. First up is this Caperdonich 1995 from a refill sherry hogshead. The colour doesn’t indicate an avalanche of sherry.
Sister cask #95051 (same bottling date) was released for the 10th anniversary of The Nectar in 2016.
Caperdonich 23 yo 1995 (58,4%, Signatory Vintage ‘30th Anniversary’ 2018, refill sherry hogshead #95050, 265 btl.)
Nose: starts a bit sharp and piquant, on sweet mustard with balsamic touches. Time-out. After fifteen minutes: apple juice, lemons, peonies and a hint of tobacco. Also typical (nice) Haribo bears and some cinnamon.
Mouth: oily texture, with fruity notes (oranges, sweet lemons, pears) and spicy notes (white pepper, cloves). Quite nervous. Sweet grapefruit and light grassy, zesty notes. Mildly drying.
Finish: not too long, on apples, ginger and grassy / spicy notes.
This one needs a lot of time and even then the zesty sharpness never goes away and masks the fruitiness a little. A closed distillery but this is far from the mythical 1970s distillates. Available from The Whisky Exchange or The Whisky Barrel.
Score: 86/100