Another stop in this series about cask-finished whiskies and another wine, this time Sauternes. Sauternes cask finishes have been around since the early 2000s (at least as far as I can tell). But rather than pick one of the distilleries carrying this kind of finish as a lineup stable, I decided to go for one of Scotland’s newer distilleries. Today’s review will look at the Ardnamurchan Sauternes Cask Finish, released in 2024.
TL:DR: Not your typical Ardnamurchan and yet very Ardnamurchan, even in this sweet-driven take.
Score*: 7, Very good stuff
This is a bit of an atypical Ardnamurchan. I wrote a review of a trio of Ardnamurchan core releases before this Sauternes Cask Release, and also the Ardnamurchan spirit-based Blend, Maclean’s Nose. All of these shared a lightly to medium peated West Highlands style. This Sauternes release is completely unpeated, and it has been a bit of a crowd splitter, soI am curious to see where I will land. Before I jump into the review, as with all the posts in this series, you will find an intro to Sauternes infographic below. Feel free to skip straight to the review, if you are already familiar with this style of wine and how it influences whisky.
An introduction to Sauternes
Ardnamurchan AD/ Sauternes Cask Release
Specs
Price paid: £. 65.00
Bottled date: 29/5/2024
ABV: 50%
Natural colour: Yes
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Casks Used: Unpeated ex-bourbon, distilled in 2016, finished in Sauternes casks. Full production details can be accessed by scanning the QR code in the image above
Tasting Notes
Colour: Rich dark gold.
Nose: The first impression is sweet but a sweetness supported by contrasting nuances. I smell stewed apricots in vanilla syrup, powdered sugar, white chocolate, a trio of dried apricots, peaches and pineapple. A touch of baked goods, maybe hot crossed buns (or maybe, it’s just Easter approaching). Behind all this sweetness, thankfully, there are some other notes to break the sugary onslaught: a slight dunnage funkiness, a touch of Ardnamurchan typical minerality, petrichor more than the more usual crushed sea shells this time, some maritime sea spray and some spice, pepper (white or maybe pink?) at first, then some cloves and cinnamon.
Taste and finish: Rich and mouth coating. A tiny bit hot. A big hit of marzipan as a first impression, then pineapple, apricots and candied lemon peel. And yet, overall, it is less sweet than the nose, fruity but dry. Some minerality – more a mouthfeel than a taste. Some rich maltiness. There is a touch of saltiness and a little white chocolate creaminess.
The finish is medium long, very mineralic (crushed oyster shells), rich with dried fruit, a touch of spice and a slight bitter note on the finish
Score*: 7, very good stuff
Sweet-tasting whiskies are always a tricky category for me. They can turn very quickly to boring and flabby if they lean too much on the sugary notes, without anything else to break up the monotony. The same goes for sweet wine. Sauternes works great as a wine because it has a rich acidity that balances the sweetness and some rich at times slightly funky notes from the noble rot. These, unfortunately, do not always translate in the whiskies aged in Sauternes casks.
So, I did approach this review of the Ardnamurchan AD/ Sauternes Cask Release with a little trepidation. I have enjoyed everything I tried from this distillery to date, and I was afraid this release might burst the bubble. I shouldn’t have been. Ardnamurchan pulls the rabbit from the hat once again, and it is thanks to the rich character of its spirit. The mineral and maritime notes break up the sweetness, and the richness of the spirit stands up to the equally rich cask influence. I get why this might not everyone’s cup of tea, but count me among the fans… having said that, I’d love to see an edition with just a touch of peat. It could be stellar.
* Scores are based on the scoring scale used by Dramface, slightly modified to allow half-points
Interested in my take on a specific whisky style? Check the full Journey here and jump to the relevant Chapter.
After writing my tasting notes, I always find it interesting to look at other opinions. Here are a few other reviews of the Ardnamurchan AD/ Sauternes Cask Finish I enjoyed:
Dramface (together with a couple of other Ardnamurchans)
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