Arran 12 Pinot Noir Danish Retailers

The super famous Danish Whisky Retailers released some years ago a very interesting Arran expression, from a 1999 vintage. This 12 year old was finished in Pinot Noir casks for the last 3 years of the maturation, and was bottled at 46%abv. The bottle does not look like the new "milk" decanters, since it is was 2011 release, which in my humble opinion, were much better looking bottles. On the nose, wonderful aroma of nutella, hazelnut, chocolate and oranges all at the same time, at the first sniff. Its like pineapples dipped in cappuccino. Caramel. There is something that feels old and humid, like sawdust. Elegant and thick on the nose. Pineapple juice. The most incredible marshmallow note ever has appeared. Peach halves and white chocolate. On the palate, i get pineapple notes right away, it feels a little light, almost watery. Sugar notes for a second, then it becomes a salty water. On the second sip, this is definitively sugary, with sawdust notes. Aftertaste is beautiful. Tobacco and dark cake notes. Burnt hay. Very rewarding and full. It feels like drinking the cask's loose wooden threads. Overall, a very enjoyable 12yo expression from Arran, but i did not feel the Pinot Noir Cask influence at all. It feels more like a standard Arran, which is always a very good dram in my books, but it did not offered me anything new. Still, this is a very good whisky; my score for it is 88 over 100.

Nose: You can smell the wine cask in here but not as much as some other Pinot.Very fresh, spicy oak, mineral sugars, light red fruits. Seems more like a merlot than a pinot for me. Mouth: wonderfull texture for the abv, fresh fruits again, some delicate spices, not very complex but easy drinker. Final: Short, dry, citrus.. quite sad.