CAOL ILA 14 ans 2004 The Little Big Book Gordon & Macphail

Nose : refined, unctuous. Right from the initial nose, the scene is set, with notes of soot and smoked meat appearing alongside stewed fruits (marmalade, melon). The aromatic palette then becomes increasingly gamy and salty. Allowed to breathe, a handful of spices (black pepper, curry), quince jelly and heady florals (lavender, rose, peony) bring lots of complexity. Gradually, dark chocolate, liquorice and smoke (ash, burnt wood) lastingly flood the atmosphere.

Palate : full-bodied, distinguished. The remarkably taut attack then takes on the fruit and smoke from the nose. The spicy (ginger) and herbaceous (gentian) mid-palate allows superb medicinal and gamy notes to be expressed. This take almost complete possession of the palate. The silky, delicate end of the palate invites us to enjoy a delicious apricot jam sprinkled with rose petals.

Overall : long, powdery. Smoke has now filled the flavour palette. The same smoke also hints at a large number of flowers (carnation, purple lilac, gillyflower). With time, notes of Havana cigar, leather and liquorice stick accompany morsels of intense dark chocolate. The retro-nasal olfaction is characterized by emery cloth, noble wood, chimney smoke (soot) and clove. Unexpectedly but with much conviction, the empty glass allows a glimpse of red fruits (red currant, grenadine) and invites us to begin the tasting again.