dhsilv2
Longrow Red 11 Year Pinot Noir Cask Matured
Single Malt — Campbeltown, Scotland
Reviewed
October 21, 2019 (edited June 23, 2020)
If I'd known there were so few reviews I'd have done this one sooner.
Nose - So I get the springbank/longrow what I call BBQ peat. There seems to be and follow me here, a bit of a wet blanket going on and it's covering up some cherries that are starting to ferment. I'm getting a bit of vanilla oak. There's a sweet element here, almost a fluffed up marshmallow and baked goods element. It's really evolving in the glass. That blanket from before is gone and the sweet notes are coming out, those cherries however are still pretty far back and muted. Water brings out more sweet baked cookies and sugars.
Taste - I've noticed with the longrow red's I find them a bit too hot to review though I love them at the full cask strength when I'm just sipping them. The peat, oak, wine, salts, and other notes are just too hard for me to pull apart. This is only 53.1 but it's got a kick. It's also only 11 years old so it's a bit young too. With water it's the classic longrow elements. That sea salt, campbeltown peat, some spices, cookies, savory BBQ, and I'm not a wine drinker so I'm struggling with the wine influence here. I'm getting some funk notes I don't associate with springbank/longrow that I'm associating with the wine. It's not the most enjoyable part of this, but it pushes the complexity and flavor transitions up to 11.
They aged this 8 years in bourbon then 3 years in the wine casks. I think 2 more years in the bourbon would have done this one some real good. Still it's just good stuff from a distillery who can't make a truly bad whisky.
This is for whisky lovers who want in your face intense flavors, like higher proof, and don't mind a bit of an alcohol kick. For me, I could use more refinement and I think a 13 year old version of this could have absolutely hit the perfect balance of intense longrow red with a bit more refinement. But what do I know? I'm just a whisky drinker who would take on debt if need be to get a new release from springbank (only partially joking). I actually have based on 3 bottles from them this year...and I regret it every minute of everyday!
130.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@dhsilv2 Haha..ah if I'm dead I'm dead..it's a bottle for sharing :-). I still have another 170 or so samples to work through which will keep me busy
@Soba45 8 years??? Man tomorrow is not assured. Taste now and save the bigger pours for later.
@PBMichiganWolverine Yup. In 8 years time for my 50th...hopefully my liver holds up :-).
@Soba45 that’s worthy of opening for a special occasion ( silver wedding anniversary, birth of a child, etc)
@PBMichiganWolverine Probably the 1971 G&M Mortlach I'd say. I think it was your review of a 25 yr that rated highly so crossing my fingers it will be as awesome!
@dhsilv2 that’s a nice one—wasn’t able to get my hands on that Springbank. @Soba45 what about you—-your most prized one? Mine: probably my Hanyu Joker or Karuizawa One
@ Soba45 my most prized bottle is a 19 year "fresh sherry" springbank cask strength (have an 18 single barrel fresh sherry as hell at 46%).
@dhsilv2 Yeah I got to try some of the 17 year Longrow Red Cask Strength Cab Franc (Single cask). It was good but didn't blow me away
@cascode canada recently got 2 single barrels in the ~17 year mark. I don't recall the finishing. I'm pretty envious of those who were able to get them. The 15 year chardonnay cask I have is life changing.
@Soba45 I'd have 2 at your prices...maybe 3. Actually I've seen the 18's at 225-250 lately.
@dhsilv2 Whaat that's madness!! And I thought the 21 was stupidly priced here..
@Soba45 400 for the 21, 800 for the 25 and 200 for the 18 here. You've got DEALS!
@PBMichiganWolverine $80 the pinot sold for here..big difference eh? Even worse with the new tariffs!
@dhsilv2 @PBMichiganWolverine Yeah it's funny as over here in NZ the price point is lower than average (as what I see as a premium product) which is why I like them as VFM e.g. Hazelburn 13 -14 yrs are $75. Springbank 15 <$85. Weirdly they get stupidly priced from the 21 yr the 18 yr being $120 here and then 21 jumps to well over $200!
@PBMichiganWolverine the springbank line has a whole is premium priced stuff. On the one hand, I do like that the bottles are made of nearly indestructable glass (dropped a 300 dollar floor 6 feet onto my kitch floor and it survived). They certainly do everything the right way, but yeah 120+ for 11-13 year old whisky even cask strength is asking a lot. I'll keep buying them though. I do wish they'd age them a few more years. I have a 15 year single cask finished in a wine wine cask that was 150 and is absolty sublime!
These “red” lineups are pretty popular. I think I had only one of them—-a merlot. It was decent, but wasn’t a big enough fan to pay that $120+ asking price.