Caol Ila 2003 Sassicaia Wood Finish

Listen to me. If you ever find whiskies finished in Sassicaia Casks, buy them. Buy them immidiately. Let me tell you my story. I often buy whisky samples (3cl and 5cl) to try new things and rate some hard to find drams. One time, i had bought an Arran called Sassicaia Wine Finish. It was absolutely amazing, one the best whiskies i have ever had. When i started looking for a whole bottle online, i wasn't able to find it. Nowadays, i have obtained one bottle of that incredible scarce Arran, and i have tasted some other Sassicaia wine finished whiskies, like Benromach. Well... in 2003, Gordon & Macphail released this peaty private edition Caol ila, finished in a finest Tuscany Sassicaia wine casks. Bolgheri Sassicaia wine can only be made by Tenuta San Guido, the only Italian Bodega that has the permission to make it. Bottled at 46%abv, it has a lovely tawny color. On the nose, smokey and sweet. Orange caramel with ashes. It smells like a pond; merthiolate. Carrot cake, farm fruits and lulo. More sips made the arome change into a cotton candy. On the palate it is almost perfect. Orange, acid fruits, lovely caramel. The sweetness is incredible. Lulo fruit, vanilla. Aftertaste starts with grapefruit, pepper and sea salt. It is marvelous spicy. Absolutely amazing finish, very rewarding. Overall, this continues to be my favorite type of wine finish for whisky. It is very elegant, full of sweet flavors, that have mixed in an incredible way with Caol Ila's signature peatiness. A flavorful and aromatic dram, my score for this beauty is 95 over 100.

Colour is similar to the Pinot Gris my wife is drinking. Nose doesn't offer to much. Orange, Apricot and Spiced Cocoa are the tasting notes for this which I agree is pretty spot on. Aftertaste is relatively non existent and slightly weird.