Glenmorangie Nectar D'or 12 Year

PRICE: $60-80. Widely available. INFO: Single malt scotch whisky distilled by Glenmorangie from the North Coastal Highlands region. This is your basic 10 year old ex-bourbon Glenmorangie finished for 2 additional years in ex-sauternes casks. Sauternes is a sweet white wine from France. This is bottled at 46% ABV. “D’or” is pronounced “door”, except you have to make the first sound of hacking of spitwad at the end. C’est francais. NOSE: 85/100. I definitely get white wine. White grapes plays well with the fresh green fruits and florals of the Glenmorangie base. The original 10 year old already noses so pleasant; this is different, but is not necessarily better. PALATE: 86/100. This is much sweeter than the nose. Vanilla, honey, sultanas. A tiny bit of water improves this. It becomes softer, and you can find some peaches and apricots. FINISH: 84/100. The best finish out of all the core range 12 year old finished Glenmorangies. There’s a captivating transition point into a creamy citrus. There’s still that white wine, but there’s also lime sherbet, lemon rinds, and a moderate amount of pepperiness from cloves and ginger. The linger is medium. OVERALL: Solid whisky, to be sure. But I don’t agree with packaging. Why does the box have hinges and why is this $10-20 more than La Santa and Quinta Ruban? It’s not like Sauternes finishing is rare or unique. For example, Arran does it without fanfare. In the end, I like this better than La Santa, but I prefer Quinta Ruban, which is cheaper. MARK: 85/100. VALUE FOR MONEY: Unwarranted premiumization. This used to be in plain box, like the other core Glenmorangies. I think this is worth about $50; but for that money, I would rather get the port-finished Quinta Ruban.