Glenmorangie Nectar d’Or
46%ABV
12 years old
Aged 10yo in Bourbon casks then extra maturation of 2 years in Sauternes barrique (French sweet white wine from Bordeaux)
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Glenmorangie, which means “val of tranquility” in Gaelic, was founded in 1843 in the North-East of the highlands / Scotland. The fact that they use, for the distillation part, very long alambics from an ancient Gin factory explains why their whisies are always rather smooth and light. Glenmorangie is also famous since longtime for their mastered experiments of various extra maturation in different casks (burgundy, madeira, malaga, heritage, port, cognac, rye etc…). Property of LVMH since 2004 and managed by the famous Bill Lumsden (master distiller and bio- chemist) who also works for Ardbeg distillery.
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COLOR : gold/honey.
NOSE : immediate fresh dessert white wine notes with exotic fruits (ananas juice, passion fruits, green banana and lemon), apple, quince jam, grape must, pollen/honey, sugar, vanilla, biscuits (almonds and coconuts), grilled caramel, malt and hints of curry powder.
PALATE : of course sooo sweet, soft and sirupy but however also acid, spicy, bitter and even nervous… Notes of raw oak, mandarin zests, cinnamon-pepper-ginger, lots of vanilla cream and brown sugar/molasses/maple syrup.
FINISH : first Sauternes wine, cereals, dessert cream, dry walnuts, hints of salt ?, acid and rough lemon..Then we go back to the sweetness with grilled caramel, honey and white wine (rather more mineral and dry…maybe as a chardonnay ).
COMMENTS : A pleasant dram. In fact these smooth, sweet and fruity flavors but also spicy/hot and punchy feelings make this contrasted dram a very interesting one that I really like. Sadly my bottle is almost finished… I also love the decent 46%abv and the non chill filtration process.