Okay so this review is a little late, but this is only because we’re so busy bringing whisky festivals to all of you, and be honest would you rather a whisky review or a whisky festival? Yeah, thought so.
If you think of all the whisky drinkers you know or have ever known, one thing they will all have in common (besides being enlightened by whisky) is that at some point they’ve all had a dram of Glenmorangie. Now whether it is the Original Ten year old, or one of the older and more unusual releases, I’ve no doubt that they enjoyed it just as I always have. Yep, from Signet to the well-known 10yo there’s no denying that this distillery is capable of true whisky greatness.
This review is looking at the 3rd release of their ‘Private Edition’ seris, named Artein. A combination of 2 parts 15yo and 1 part 21yo ‘Morangie, primarily aged as you would expect in their much-loved American Oak, it’s then moved for an extra period of maturation into ‘Super-Tuscan’ wine casks from Italy.
For those who are unfamiliar with the concept of finishing or extra maturation – a swift explanation. Essentially it’s when matured stock (from ex-Bourbon barrels in this case) is moved into a new cask, port, wine, virgin American white oak etc. The whisky will then be left for anything from a few months to usually no more than a year to take on extra layer of flavour. The hard part is not leaving it to long, these new casks are powerful and could easily dominate and overwhelm the spirit if not watched carefully. Glenmorangie more or less spearheaded this movement back in the 90s with large volume releases of wood finished whiskies, which you might remember.
Now the focus on this particular release is stone. Inspired partly by the Cadboll stone originally carved way back around 300AD- 900AD!
If you look closely at the pattern you might recognise it? The pattern was adopted by Glenmorangie as their logo and can be found on all their releases but is most noticeable on Signet. This choice of ‘material’ also allows them to point to their mineral-rich limestone water source, the Tarlogie spring. The wine casks themselves are connected to stone in that the vines are growing on an inhospitable landscape in which the roots are working like mad to delve into what earth they can find through this stoney entrapment. The wine itself from these casks is called ‘Sassicaia’ (pronounced Sas-i-kai) derived from the word ‘sasso’, also meaning stone.
So it’s about as stoned as a whisky can get…
Now the man behind this is one Dr Bill Lumsden (Glenmorangie’s Whisky Creator) who as we all know is not shy of cask finishing and is almost single-handedly responsible for the whole galaxy of wood finishing we see today (no offence Dave Stewart of Balvenie). In fact I reckon if you’re standing near a wine cask too long while Bill’s around you’re likely to end up in it and being matured that little bit longer and finished yourself! Who knows you might come out with an extra dimension of character much like this whisky. He is also a massive fan of red wines from this region so it was only a matter of time…
The Tasting of Artein
Nose. Red fruit, blackcurrants, grapes and mixed berries tapered down with vanilla custard. Whispers of oak and age appear through the intense fruit.
Palate. Quite thick Certainly thicker than most other ‘Morangies), silky and soft. Big hit of sweetness and the fruit that’s so clear on the nose is almost dominating. As it holds onto your palate it intensifies initially but then begins to mellow revealing the American oak behind it all.
Finish. Not what I expected – almost slightly minty with little flutters of vanilla and some citrus and spice right in the distance.
Conclusion.
A weird whisky, I have to be honest, but very tasty stuff though. A good example of red wine cask maturation (if you’ve never tried a good one try this) and just how massive its impact can be on a subtle creature like Glenmorangie. Also a lesson in how to keep intense wine seasoned oak like this from overwhelming the spirit character – how to, harmonise flavour, oak and age into a tasty package. Wood finishing is always going to be a big platform for discussion in any whisky circle. If I’m playing with any wood finished drams at tastings this year I’d happily have Artein amongst them. Glenmorangie and other light styles can respond well to wood finishing certainly when the Bill Lumsdens and Jim McEwans of this world are at the helm, giving that extra layer of flavour and intrigue to old favourites.
Cheers,
Joe
Artein follows Finealta and Sonnalta PX in their private editions series. You can pick up Artein for around £70 from Master of Malt, The Whisky Exchange and other good specialist retailers.
