Nose: Sweet peat smoke with malt, red wine and sherry notes showing through. Some orchard fruit and coal smoke as it opens together with crisp, light herbal aromas. There is a subtle and elegant presence of oak cask. Nicely balanced. Palate: Soft, sweet entry with foundation peat smoke. Juicy red berries and grapes on the mid palate set against a mild base of soft tannins, just a pinch of white pepper, a few drops of sea water and a twist of sweet lemon zest. The texture is fairly neutral. Finish: Medium. Soft and relaxed smoke and red fruit notes. A very pleasant and easily approachable whisky, if not an earth-shatteringly impressive one. It shows the signature profile characteristics of the distillery’s contemporary style and is clean, well composed and well casked. This whisky is part of Gordon & MacPhail’s “Wood Finished Connoisseurs Choice” range and it is the least expensive expression in that range. In fact it is only a little more expensive than the whiskies in the G&M entry-level Discovery range, which makes it good value for money. It was distilled in 2008 and bottled on the 8th of October 2020 in a release of 4440 bottles. Maturation was initially in refill sherry hogsheads for 9 years, followed by 3 years of finishing in northern Rhone hermitage casks (which most likely contained red shiraz varietal wine). The strength of 45% abv was well chosen and gives just enough presence to the whisky. The wine cask finish does tend to obscure the distillate character just a bit, and you lose some of the porridge, bread and grassy notes of the Tobermory new-make, but the casks also provide a very agreeable complimentary component of juicy red-berries and grapes, so no complaints from me. The profile is relatively straightforward but that is not a problem when all the elements are pleasant and in balance, as here. The only criticism I would make is that the palate lacks a little in density. My initial nosing of this whisky gave me a very good impression and I started thinking “hmm, 4.25 stars?”. However when I tasted it I automatically knocked off a half point. It’s not the proof that is at issue here or any problem with balance or character – that’s all fine – it is a slight lack of weight and structure. If this was just a little more oily or creamy on the palate it would be a very good whisky rather than just a good one. However as I said that’s not a fault as such, it just positions it in a different niche where it is less a whisky to pour for discerning whisky mates and more a cosy dram to relax with as a nightcap or companion to an old late-night movie. The less you analyse this one and the more you just relax and enjoy it the better it gets, and it’s one of the few whiskies that I much prefer without any dilution. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)