CAOL ILA 10 ans 2011 Whisky Live Paris 2021 Conquête S.V

Nose : refined, precise. The very rocky first nose is also ashy, delicately herbaceous (cut hay), peppery and medicinal (mustard seed). Allowed to breathe, it develops more fruity (pear, apple) and milky (agave, almond) registers. Increasingly pharmaceutical (tiger balm, mustard poultice), the aroma palette is also wonderfully vanilla and lemony.

Appearance : greenish gold.

Palate : at once lively and delicate. Characterized by an evanescent and slightly grilled smoke, the attack reveals a peat situated between land and sea. The salty (samphire, seaweed), ashy, smoky and sea spray-infused mid-palate is also fruity (pear, Mirabelle plum) and lemony. At the end of the palate, deliciously pearly smoke rings from a Havana cigar float through the air.

Overall : long, well-balanced. The then vanilla start of the finish is an oasis of aniseed freshness, noble spice (saffron) and richness (calisson d’Aix). The end of the finish is floral (lilac, lily of the valley, lily) and mineral (basalt). With flavours of asparagus, courgette flower and water lily, the retro-nasal olfaction is exceptionally delicate. The empty glass is mentholated, honeyed (lavender), malty and finely herbaceous (straw).