Port Ellen 16 yo 1979 / 1995 Dun Eideann #303 43%

Always a sense of loss when trying these, and no, new Port Ellen is not Port Ellen. Here a tarry, oil laden peat, full of ancient roots and memory. Suede leather, clear diesel smoke. A real sense of lit coal but wrapped in a blanket of aromatic-medicinal greens like spearmint, gentian and shiso leaf. Much more lively and maritime on the tongue than the nose suggests, with salty ropes and sea soaked canvas, yesterday’s catch and old shells. Also hawthorn maybe, plus lots of old ash. Quietly poignant, like admiring a vintage seascape of a long gone seaside. 89 pts