Glenrothes 1986, The Whisky Jury

Nose: a mild fruitiness of apricots, oranges and ripe juicy pears, mixed with beehive notes and beautiful wax. Hints of light mead, nectar and dried wildflowers, as well as some sunflower oil. Sweet almonds or even marzipan. Then a little bit of leather and tree resin. This reminds me of some 1970s Glenlivet for instance, but there’s a hint of Clynelish to it as well, with this beautifully polished fruity-waxy side.

Mouth: lovely indeed, still showing plenty of ripe fruits. Pears, oranges, yellow plums and gooseberries. Subtle guava in the background. Very natural old Speyside whisky but again showing this Clynelish-y waxiness. Some Earl Grey with honey. A slice of cake as well. Some polished wood comes out, but with hardly any spicy notes. Very distinguished.

Finish: medium long, with this fruit cocktail coming out again. Never drying.

This kind of old Glenrothes is not something you see everyday. It is very refined, with a great mix of fruity and oily notes. In addition, the absence of wood makes this a meditational dram with a very high glu-glu character. On its way to stores as we speak, check the Whisky Jury website for an up-to-date list of retailers.

This one should be a prima ballerina. Colour: white wine. Nose: indeed, all softness, honeys, old chardonnay (great old Chablis from the left bank, my favourite premier cru being the moderately known Côte de Léchet), with some elegant pear liqueur, ripe apples, some acacia honey, barley syrup, pink banana, mirabelles… It is rather a whisperer, or a chamber music quartet shall we say. Mouth: love this fragility, herbs, herbal teas, with a little cinnamon, peaches, pomelos and melons, a little porridge, lemongrass, a quarter of a drop of cough syrup, a wee cup of verbena tea, plus that famous tea in the Sahara (what?) With pine nuts! Finish: medium, subtle, gentle, more honeyed towards the aftertaste. Some pink grapefruit syrup. Indeed, it whispers but it's still got a lot to tell us. You could sip this while smoking a nargileh. Comments: exactly the opposite of LMDW's massively sherried Glenrothes. Yet the score is the same.
SGP:551 - 90 points.