DrRHCMadden
Lindores Abbey MCDXCIV Single Malt
Single Malt — Lowlands, Scotland
Reviewed
May 13, 2023 (edited November 14, 2023)
Lindores first public release, MCDXCIV (1494) has spent its time maturing in ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and STR ex-Burgundy red wine casks.
The founders boast “one of the longest wash fermentation periods in the Scotch Whisky Industry at 117 hours coupled with an unusual sister spirit stills set up helps achieve the Distillery Manager’s goal of producing a malt of remarkable character for its age. The Sister Spirit Stills “Poppy” & “Gee”, named after the owners two daughters, help enhance and refine, through additional copper contact in the spirit distillation phase, the wonderful flavours captured in the long fermentation period.”
N: Instant smack of malt with creamy light toffee and praline. Mixtures of pear, stone fruit, and jammy fig. Gentler florals, chocolates maybe, and some leathery and gristy depth. Eminently enjoyable and with elements of age and youth in equal measure.
P: Beautifully light and creamy with some accompanying oiliness. Clove and nutmeg spice blend seamlessly with soft caramel and baked apple. Barely sugar adds a crisp almost crunch to the texture and flavour development. A gentle balanced bitterness from dark chocolate and spritz of orange.
F: Medium-long. Darker leathery depths are found here that were promised by the nose and join a rich woodiness (but not over present) and a syrupy texture with a winey fruit presence.
The very core of this liquid is a clear development from the new make. The citrus, the plum, the praline and vanillin are all developed and added to by the ambitious multicask ageing to bring depth and fullness to a well balanced and generous profile. The 46% is great, and likely needed to help deliver some of the subtler notes. Some youth is found in here with a slight grist on the nose and barley sugar ‘crunch’ in the palate. But they are minor detractors, this is interesting and seemingly quite unique. Lovely stuff.
Distiller whisky taste #182
[Pictured here with a graphite schist from the Foss Mine in Scotland. This silvery coloured rock is from the Ben Egach Schist Formation, a group of 800-470 million year old metamorphosed oceanic sediments. The original sedimentary rocks were metamorphosed during the Caledonian Orogeny (mountain building). The Foss Mine where this rock is from hosts inter layered graphite schists and baryte which was previously mined as a source of barium]
New make: 3.25/5
Aqua Vitae Small Batch: 3.5/5
MCDXCIV: 4/5
110.0
AUD
per
Bottle
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review
@PBMichiganWolverine There has not been any available here yet, but I assume it will be around soon. I’ve seen few reviews and nothing from anyone whose opinion I would trust.
@cascode I’ve not read good reviews of the Wolfburn 10. If you try it, will be interesting to get your take on it
@cascode yes, found your and @Jose-Massu-Espinel reviews after I finished these. I seem to have found this slightly better than you both. Clearly this one speaks to me. They have done a great service to the storied history of the site. Definitely one to watch.
@DrRHCMadden I tried this one when we were in Scotland and was very impressed, enough to grab a bottle for the stash. The juice coming out of the young operations is great now but will be amazing in a decade or so. Speaking of which, Wolfburn recently released their first age statement, a 10 year. Can’t wait to try it, but none here so far.
@DrRHCMadden And these young distilleries are all doing it right - craft presentation, well engineered distillate, great casking. If only malting floors were not so damn expensive to operate they could be doing it perfectly.
@cascode as you’ll see from my six posts tonight; the new make and spiced stuff is delicious. This first release though is truly a sum greater than its parts. The journey though is wonderful, and good to see how the parts work together. Thought this was lovely, it’s on my hit list now to keep an eye out for.
@cascode guess we’d all better make some room on the shelf…
@PBMichiganWolverine There are 23 distilleries currently in advanced planning in Scotland and due for completion before 2030. Most have passed the initial stages, are funded and now just awaiting the start of building. I see no reason why we should not expect to see another 20-30 in the next decade.
@PBMichiganWolverine nope. Alcohol is stupidly expensive compared to most major global markets.
@DrRHCMadden has that taxation rate improved on whiskey? I thought AUS taxes a premium at high ABV
Yes, inflation stupid in Australia. But after microbreweries popped up on every corner, gin places started going nuts. Now Whisky is the new grab.
@DrRHCMadden wow , really? Here it’s slowed down, with the high rates. I think we’re at over 6-7%
@PBMichiganWolverine perhaps not in Scotland. Popping up like wildfires here in Aus!
@DrRHCMadden yeah, just read the first one. They seem to be off to a good start. I think we won’t see any more new distilleries for a while. In this high rate environment, financing will be tough.
@PBMichiganWolverine I just posted a six dram series. Check it out from the start, all the background is there for you chief.
@DrRHCMadden is this a new distillery? Can’t keep track anymore.