Villa de Varda is a producer of grappa in Trentino, Italy (not that far from the other distillery Puni). Besides grappa they also make inQuota, a mountain whisky made from barley and rye grown at high altitude and water from the Dolomites.
We’re trying their Mountain Rye, which is the only version that seems to be matured in plain oak. Their barley-based whisky is finished in spruce casks, Amarone casks or Passito di Pantelleria casks.
Villa de Varda inquota – Mountain Rye 6 yo 2017 (43,2%, OB 2023, 1978 btl.)
Nose: citrusy and herbal / floral at first, in a way that reminds me of gin or – indeed – grappa. Cardamom, lemon and orange peels, juniper. Then a bit of light cake and white bread, with unripe pear, jasmine and rosewater in the distance. Pine needles as well.
Mouth: delicate, still having this fresh combination of juniper, lemons and green fruits. Maybe a hint of green banana. Mid-palate it becomes spirity and eau-de-vie-ish, back to grappa. Ginger and aniseed comes out. Then a light dustiness of rye bread and a light hint of tea as well.
Finish: medium length. Spices and the wine gain track again, along with this creamy fruity layer and some caramel.
This Inquota is all very light and heady, revolving a bit too much around grappa in my opinion. Not sure how you’d get this kind of character when you’re not distilling grapes, but anyway. Nothing against artisan grappa of course, but calling this whisky may be setting false expectations. A gimmick, in my opinion. It seems to be well represented in The Netherlands for some reason – I found it at Whiskysite.nl