CAOL ILA 15 ans 1991 Silver Seal

Nose : rich, concentrated. Ash and soot appear on the surface of the initial nose, which also evokes calm seas. Allowed to breathe, sea spray and salt intensify the marine character of the aromatic palette. Next, a few grains of pepper, citrus fruit (lemon, grapefruit), acacia honey and aromatic plants (verbena, sage) take their respective places on the stage. Far from finished revealing all of its secrets, the nose continually becomes deeper and more powerful. Hold tight...

Palate : dense, powerful. The attack fits in smoothly with the rest of the palate. Peat has supplanted the smoke. It is oily, but not excessively so, salty (shellfish), lemony, liquorice and delicately milky (coconut, almond). The slender mid-palate is astonishingly fruity (pear, Golden Delicious apple). Very quickly, however, the peat and smoke unite to take charge. The animal (bacon, smoked fish) end of the palate is also particularly mineral (chalk). Like standing at the edge of a steep cliff.

Overall : long, firm. Fans will enjoy the Calisson d'Aix offered by the end of the finish, as a foggy smoke seizes the taste buds. Behind this hazy screen, we glimpse milky notes (barley porridge, almond). The retronasal olfaction wavers between peated barley, white mint and cod liver oil. The empty glass takes us to the edge of a cliff to breathe in the sea air and spirit vapours escaping from Caol Ila's still room.