The latest in Bruichladdich's "Cask Exploration" series, the heavily peated Port Charlotte SC:01 is the first to feature 100% barley from Islay. This isn't quite the rarified air of the Black Arts series, but is a distinct notch up in quality from the normal (and hard to find, these days) Port Charlotte 10 Year.
Bruichladdich explains the casking like this: a variety of Port Charlotte (peated to 40 ppm) is sorted into sherry butts, first fill ex-bourbon, and second fill ex-bourbon. After a while in each, it all gets vatted into their signature ex-Sauternes casks to marry together. Total time in the various casks: 9 years.
Bottled at 55.2% ABV, no coloring, no chill filtration (thank you Bruichladdich), I have been a big fan of the other Cask Explorations from Port Charlotte/Bruichladdich; many thanks to Rob Martin for the sample! The official notes call this a combination of gorse, coconut, fudge, and BBQ smoke. Interesting! Let's see how this one does in my book:
Nose: A complex and lovely nose. I could just smell this all afternoon and evening: delicate sole in white wine and butter sauce, floral farm-field bouquet, sweet brown BBQ sauce, chocolate-covered pineapple. The longer I let it sit, the more it develops: peach, salt, molasses, pepper. The white wine laces everything.
Mouthfeel: Silky, medium-body
Palate: Sweet honey, white wine, peaches, chocolate sauce (mole?), pepper, oak char, smoke, salt, farmy malt. Hints of roasted almond, maybe. Interestingly, the official notes say "boot polish," which I have a hard time with - the only thing close I get is some coal/ash into the development.
Finish: Sweet oak, pepper, smoke, peach pits. Dry and slightly bitter, but the smoke pulls out the length wonderfully. Sits in the pockets of your cheeks.
Verdict: Well, it's a another lovely and delicious Port Charlotte with a high level of nuance and flavor for 9 years in various casks. Chalk up another win - although this is quite pricy ($150-200 near me), the quality of the experience is pretty high as well. This is a whisky that you could sip and sip all evening and never tire of.
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