Ledaig 1997/2013 Gordon & Macphail, ‘La Maison Du Whisky’, cask 461
Ledaig, that’s really peated Tobermory of course. From the Isle of Mull. Though blind tasted, it may well be mistaken for a whisky on the south coast of an island further to the south.
Fun fact about Tobermory (the burgh of the Isle of Mull, from which the distillery is now named) – It’s famous in the UK for its colouful houses which are the backdrop for a children’s tv show called Balamory.
Rather nice isn’t it.
Tobermory distillery:
Where does the source of Ledaig’s peat come from? ‘Dark and aromatic lochan water’ says the blurb, but the water is used for both Tobermory and Ledaig, and the water is filtered through sand, reducing it’s contribution to final peatiness.
The malt? We know Tobermory does not have a malting, and for a while it received peated malt from Port Ellen though it’s traditional source is from the mainland. Though this website claims that peated malt is always from Port Ellen.
Another fun fact: Tobermory spirit stills are known for having a kinked Lyne arm:
Lediag 1997/2013 Gordon & Macphail, for ‘La Maison Du Whisky’, cask 461, 46%
Nose: Whoa. That’s thick peat oil. Heavy and wet kind of peat, with a vegetal mugginess like old wet straw. Muddy field after an afternoon’s downpour. A little odd as I half expect the coastal notes to blow in next but they’re conspicuously missing here. But it’s menthol and sappy like broken plant stems and lots of vanilla creme instead.
Palette: Its huge as expected. Big peaty whooshh and on the sweetish side, engine oil, menthol and that crushed leaf note. Medium viscosity. A stack of rubber tires unburnt. Not hugely smoky but rather more like a coal fire doused. Somewhat salty now, but much less salty than a Talisker would be. Then white pepper.
Finish: Medium, peat tang and.. something bruléd.
It’s got all the phenolic elements in place, and taken to the appropriate extreme. Full marks for bluster, but loses points for overall complexity – it wasn’t very coastal, or didn’t hide a sweet/spicy side I was hoping to be surprised by. Might mix a little sherry monster in just to see how they team up.
Still! Very fine for peaty complexity – why does this remind me of that excellent PE5?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~E D I T~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My God, what a difference some air in the bottle makes. The above notes were for a well aerated first pour and coming back to it now with some air in the bottle, I am blown away by the difference some oxygen makes. So. Oxygen is not always bad, and here I am dutifully filling open bottles with this:
Tank of Argon gas, cheaper in a 10L tank form than in the private preserve form but oh well… back to the Ledaig
That heavy peat oil and earthy dirtiness is still there, but the coastal notes are really rising out now. Not a storm lashed store, smells more like seaweed in still rock pools, skittering crabs and barnacles lobster cages. followed by some farmyard doo doo, then smoke and oat biscuits. Palette now shows much more salt notes now, rock salt, wet sand. Punchy peat, some zest and that mentholated leafy note, ah. Marlboro Menthol. Rubber tyres and embers.
In light of this I must revise my scale:
Bravo! Another lesson to myself, even when I think I’ve given a whisky enough air.
4 comments on “Ledaig 1997/2013 Gordon & Macphail, ‘La Maison Du Whisky’, cask 461”
Leave a Reply
Whiskyrific RSS
- Untitled
- Clynelish 30 yo 1972 Murray McDavid 46% vs Clynelish 37 yo 1972/2009 The Whisky Exchange ’80 proof’ ‘Ten Years Online’ 46%
- Ardbeg 14 yo Cadenhead 80 proof vs Ardbeg 11 yo 1975/1986 Corti Brothers 86 proof
- Royal Brackla 18yo 1993/2012 Signatory #6755 vs Royal Lochnagar 23yo 1973/1997 Rare Malts
- Glenlivet ‘An Unbended All Malt’ Baretto import vs Glenlivet 1966 Gordon & Macphail
- Laphroaig 21 (200th Anniversary 2015) vs Laphroaig 17 yo 1987 for Monnier Trading
- Bruichladdich 1970 vs Bruichladdich 15 yo 1965 Moon Import decanter ‘Royal Wedding’
- ‘Old Highland Cream’ Special Reserve 24 yo ‘Xmas 1950’ vs Ardmore 20 yo 1968/1988 Dun Eideann #5490+5491
- Clynelish 22 yo 1989/2011 The Whisky Agency ‘Moody Lions’ vs Clynelish 27 yo 1982/2010 The Perfect Dram
- Glen Keith 20 yo 1992/2013 Master of Malt Single Cask #120598 vs Glen Keith 20 yo 1995/2016 Douglas Laing Old particular #DL11169
Pingback: Tobermory | whiskyrific
I’ve sampled cask no 462 – delightful! And found, like you, it improves with even more airing.
Pingback: Ledaig 1997 46% | Whisky Lady
Pingback: Ledaig 1997 46% | BARTEND.IN