GlenDronach Allardice 18 Year

Extremely good

2019 bottle

This is a 2019 - exceptionally smooth and flavorful.

Nose: deep sherry notes (more plum than rubbery notes for me). Sweetness. Nuttyness. Palate: starts with sweetness, with spices getting stronger and stronger. I can feel some spices even in my throath. Aftertaste: creamy, nuts and spices. Oaky bitterness remains longer, but not overly bitter.

Very similar nose to the 21, but less complex. Dark chocolate and fruitcake on the nose. On the palate it's a little dry, dark chocolate, sweet. Tobacco undertones. Raisins in the back.

The smell is warm and welcoming, inviting to drink it when outside temperatures are colder. Cherry tart, raisins in alcohol, prunes and dried dates, candied orange, cinnamon, caramel, chocolate. Some lemon peel breaks the sweet bomb, at times a little 'excessive, along with a grassy background that fights to emerge. It is actually quite fresh on the palate, with the alcoholic charge that pushes the spices (a touch of cloves) and pinches in the mouth, while red fruits and hazelnuts compete for the podium along with fruit tart, candied fruit and more chocolate. Less full-bodied than expected, with a bitterish base that breaks down the aromas. The finish is quite long and astringent, of hazelnuts, prunes, cinnamon, cocoa powder. Only three years less than Parliament and yet so far from its balance and elegance, with the influence of the barrel that is more messy and dry and the intrusiveness of the tannins that debase the whole. Pity.