No last-minute tampering with this baby, it seems to have spent its entire life in a traditional way, in its second-fill butt. And it was a little bird that confided to me that it could well be a Macallan, a little bird that seemed to have all its wits about it but who, of course, could still be mistaken. And I believe, if I'm not mistaken myself, that this is the first time I've tasted a spirit bottled exclusively for Macau... Colour: gold. Nose: very fresh and fruity at the beginning, complex and aromatic, with a lot of elegance and a sherry that has managed to remain discreet. I find a lot of quince and mirabelle plums, juicy sultanas, a little camphor and menthol (thanks to the long years in the cask!), then some simpler things, such as hay and apples, for example. Maybe not exactly an endurance runner after all, but still very nice. With water: apple and plum juice, with a little cinnamon. Mouth (neat): a lot of apple compote, fruit jelly (surprising at 30 years), ripe plums, oranges, with a touch of chalk and always quince. The years don't show, I imagine that the honourable butt hadn't been filled only once before. With water: barley and agave syrup, and even more apple and quince compote. Finish: not extremely long but nicely herbaceous and fruity. Hay wine, an excellent drink that our Vosges neighbours prepare when they have nothing else to do. Comments: really in the style of several other blended malts of the same origin that I have tasted before, but I cannot formally confirm what the little bird whispered in my ear. Greatly excellent but maybe not totally grandiose, and vice versa.
SGP:551 - 88 points.
