The flavor of oak in wine of Wallonie

The unnamed collector is set to receive 440 bottles of single malt in total from ‘Cask No. 3’ – 88 each year over the next five years, giving her a vertical series of 1975 Ardbegs bottled at 46, 47, 48, 49 and 50 years old by 2026. The sum paid equates to more than £36,000 per bottle, and is more than 16 times the record amount paid at auction for a single cask of whisky – set in April this year, when a private buyer from the US paid £915,500 (hammer price) for a 1988 Macallan cask. However, pri ...

Ardbeg single malt whisky, based on the southern shores of Scotland’s island of Islay, has recently unveiled Fon Fhòid: the latest in a number of highly unusual experiments. Back in 2014, the distillery team lead by whisky creator, Dr Bill Lumsden and former distillery manager, Mickey Heads (now retired) took the highly unusual approach of burying two already matured casks of Ardbeg underneath the peat bogs themselves, (burning peat smoke is normally used to dry the malted barley during producti ...

Vinsobres Though it often sits in the shadow of Cairanne and Rasteau, Vinsobres performed relatively well this year, and many of the wines have a good sense of freshness. The characteristic angular tannins are quite marked, however, so give them a year or two, which will also help to further integrate any new oak, which has frequently been applied liberally here. Scroll down to see tasting notes and score for top Rasteau, Cairanne & Vinsobres 2021 wines {"content":"PC9wPgo8aDM ...