Bruichladdich Launches Port Charlotte PAC: 01 2011
Bruichladdich has launched Port Charlotte PAC: 01 2011, the latest release in their Cask Exploration series and successor to last year’s Port Charlotte OLC:01 2010.
Distilled in 2011 from a 2010 crop of 100% Scottish Concerto Barley and peated to 40 PPM (parts per million), Port Charlotte PAC: 01 2011 was created from two parcels of heavily peated spirit aged for eight years. The first parcel was matured for six years in 1st fill ex-American whiskey casks, then two years in 1st fill casks which previously held red wine from the Pauillac region of France. The second parcel was matured for seven years in 1st fill ex-American whiskey casks, then the remainder of its life in 2nd fill casks that previously held red wine from France’s Pauillac region.
Bruichladdich’s official tasting notes for Port Charlotte PAC: 01 2011 follow:
Nose – Lots of fresh, fruit aromas mingle with the dry peat smoke to entice you into the dram; from the oak comes spices – cloves, ginger and cassia, along with chocolate, toasted malt with toffee, brown sugar and delicate coconut and vanilla notes. As you nose again, the fruit notes of both the spirit and the wood come together – melon and citrus from the spirit and dried plums and raisin from the cask. The earthy peat smoke wraps around the fruit and spice and holds everything together, highlighting the wonderful marine and ozone notes that breeze through the dram.
Palate – As the first drop touches your tongue, a wave of flavours sweep across the palate, the sweetness from the oak and maltlead, followed by the smoke, citrus and dried fruit notes. Another sip helps to order the flavours, and you find the oak notes, the dried fruit, marzipan and spice. Caramel and chocolate notes emerge alongside the peat smoke with its earthy richness. A little water opens the citrus fruit and marine elements and brings out a little more of the coconut and vanilla notes from the oak. The structure on the palate is firm and round and balances the depth of flavour of this whisky.
Finish – The peat smoke comes through on the finish with a more medicinal phenol style. Coconut and floral notes waver, and a saline marine element combines with the earthy smoke in the classic port charlotte style. The oak’s softness and the minerality of the spirit become wrapped in smoke, a familiar signature to this dram.
Port Charlotte PAC: 01 2011 is bottled NCF (non chill-filtered) and coloring free at a cask strength of 56.1% ABV and will be available at retail stores in the coming months.
Photo credit: Bruichladdich.
Source: bruichladdich.com.