Roborel de Climens 2016 Finition Sémillon du Château Doisy-Daëne

Nose: Apricot, honey, almost over-ripe orange. An earthy quality with soft, light peat smoke. Palate: Delicate and sweet arrival with malt extract, honey and ginger oatcakes. The development delivers preserved tropical fruits but the outstanding characteristic is the texture. Creamy, velvety, oily and full – it has a mouth-coating heaviness that is reminiscent of dessert wine or PX sherry but without the intense sweetness. There is also a touch of peat smoke on the palate, more noticeable than the smoke on the nose, but still mild and reserved. Finish: Medium. Fruity, sweet and malty, fading to a wisp of smoke. Roborel de Climens is a recently formed company based in Bordeaux. The owner, Aymeric Roborel de Climens, is an experienced winemaker who has turned his attention to whisky production. The company is not a distillery but rather an independent producer that sources new-make spirit and matures it in selected, top quality French oak casks. The maturation process involves two phases. First, new-make spirit (sourced from Distillerie Artisanale HEPP in Uberach, Alsace) is matured in a combination of new and refill French oak casks (about 80% are refill casks and also come from the HEPP distillery). This phase lasts 3-4 years and provides structure and body to the whisky. The whisky is then finished for 6-12 months in ex-wine casks, each expression being matured in a specific type of cask. This expression was finished in ex-Semillon casks from Château Doisy-Daëne, a Sauternes-Barsac Grand Cru Classé. Note that this is not a dry, light Semillon but rather an oxidized sweet botrytis wine. The new-make spirit was also distilled from grain peated to 20ppm (a moderate level by Scottish standards, a little lower than the peat level in Bowmore) and it was bottled at 46% which has added significantly to the whisky’s presence. Tasted at the Sydney Whisky Show, 15 May 2021, my tasting #19 of the day and the last of the four Roborel de Climens expressions I tried. I was very impressed with this new brand and I later discovered they have a wider range available than was featured at the Whisky Show, including more highly peated expressions (40ppm) and cask-strength bottlings. At AUD$153 for a 500ml bottle this is not “value” whisky but an artisan product that is priced accordingly. It is supurbly crafted but whether or not it is worth the price would depend entirely on individual taste. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)