These are two of the rarest releases in the series, with only 6,000 bottles released of each. Which is the same number of bottles as the first release, PC5, and a tiny amount compared to the largest release of 30,000 bottles, PC8. There very nearly wasn't a PC9 at all, in fact, due to the pressure on the distillery's stocks for it's then-upcoming release of the first core range 10-year old Port Charlotte. But in true Bruichladdich fashion the distillery felt obligated to look after the fans who had been following the series from its conception, and they came through, albeit in limited numbers. PC10 was just as rare, and also nearly didn't exist for the same reason. In fact it was made a little obscure and under-appreciated thanks to the release of that aforementioned 10-year old core range release, which actually turned out to be a limited release. There have been a total of four 10-year old Port Charlotte official bottlings released to the general market (not distillery exclusives), one at 46% ABV and two at 50%, and only one at cask strength. To paraphrase Highlander, there can be only one PC10!
Both of these releases were fully-matured in both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, and they were the last of the PC series to follow that recipe since PC11 & PC12 were 'only' finished / Additional Cask Enhanced in sherry casks. Speaking of which, I reviewed those two last year so I won't re-review them now, which makes this review of PC9 & PC10 the third and final part of this mini-series. But you can read all about the next and final two releases in the series here. As I said at the time, PC11 is my pick of the two, but they're both deserved of your attention (and money) if you can find them. They were both travel / duty-free exclusive, but PC12 in particular did seem to hang around for a while. Now, back to the subject at hand...
The nine-year old PC9 was distilled in 2002 and bottled in 2011, at a cask strength of 59.2%. It's Gaelic name was "An Ataireachd Ard" (don't ask me to pronounce that one!), meaning "The Surge of the Sea", as a tribute to the Atlantic ocean that claws away at Islay's eastern shores. PC9 also saw the return of the individually numbered bottles to this series, which was skipped for PC8 and then done away with for PC11 & PC12. The nine-year old is one of the most difficult to find in the entire series, and to my knowledge was never released in Australia. As with PC8 the official maturation declaration only states "American Oak", but unlike PC8 the official tasting notes refer to Spanish sherry casks, so we know there are both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks in this one, and based on the colour & flavour I suspect the proportion of the latter was significantly higher than it was in its predecessor, and in PC10 for that matter. Let's get to it!
Distilled 2002, bottled 2011. Matured in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, both American oak. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 6,000 bottles.
Colour: Amber.
Nose: Reminiscent of PC7, which is already a win, but it's softer and more rounded. Some leather & shoe polish, fresh tar / bitumen, and sweet, dark treacle. Then sultanas / golden raisins, damp sea shells and muddy, damp, earthy peat. Slightly floral sweetness and some lemon rind with more time.
Texture: Medium-heavy weight, rich & sweet, smoky & ashy. Very nice. Slight heat but it's well hidden.
Taste: Rich syrup to start with, date syrup in fact. Some muddy peat and floral heathery notes, then dried fruit (orange in particular), and more of that sultana and treacle from the nose. Then an ashy, spicy smoke with a little vanilla paste and more lemon rind.
Finish: Long. Some fresh red chilli, then more of that spicy, ashy smoke and muddy, earthy peat. Becomes softer with the sultana and treacle returning but it's more dry here than on the nose or palate. More of a treacle tart or pecan pie now actually, including the pastry.
Score: 4 out of 5.
Notes: Very nice this one! Not quite on the level of 5, 6 & 7 in my book, but there's not much space between them. It's very much in a similar vein to PC7, which I'm guessing is due to a higher percentage of sherry casks being in the recipe. It's definitely a softer & more rounded dram, but don't think of this as a shy whisky by any means. And the addition of that tar & ashy smoke is very enjoyable. The texture of PC9 is spot on too, nicely weighted with loads of flavour, although again not quite on the level of 5, 6 & 6. Particularly 6 & 7. The addition of those floral and heathery notes show a brighter and lighter side to this nine-year old, and could well be hinting at what's coming next... Very tasty stuff this, I only wish they'd made more of it!
And next up, and finally, PC10. As I mentioned above, this is not to be confused with the 'regular' 10-year old Port Charlotte releases, of which there have been three versions over the last seven-or-so years. The first was bottled at 46% and was matured in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, and was released in late 2012 at a similar time to the far rarer real PC10. It was meant to be a permanent addition to the Port Charlotte line-up, following after a couple of non-age statement bottlings, but that wasn't to be. The second was a limited release of 18,000 bottles and was bottled at 50%, since that had become (and still is) the distillery's standard bottling strength at the time, and some Spanish and French red wine casks were added to the mix. The third release is an actual permanent core range bottling, and is presented in the new updated design & green stumpy bottles that I've dubbed the "smoke grenades". But there has only ever been one real PC10, and it was bottled at a cask strength of 59.8% ABV, a higher strength than PC9. It's almost as hard to get a hold of as PC9, to my knowledge was never released in Australia, and is constantly getting mixed up with the regular-strength bottlings in conversation. Its cask recipe is a little mysterious, once again only stating "American Oak", with no mention of sherry casks in the tasting notes, and it's definitely a shade or two lighter in colour than PC9. And it's also a piece of history, being the first 10-year old Port Charlotte bottling and the only one to date to be bottled at cask strength. The Gaelic name in this case was "Tro Na Linntean", meaning "Through the Generations", as a tribute to the appointment of Allan Logan's appointment as Bruichladdich's Distillery Manager - the youngest distillery manager in Scotland at the time - after Duncan McGillivray's retirement. Here we go...
Distilled 2002, bottled 2012. Matured in "American Oak". Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 6,000 bottles.
Colour: Full gold.
Nose: Softer, brighter and sweeter. Rich vanilla custard, maybe creme brulee? Plus heather honey and a soft & refined earthy peat. Quite a lot of heather here actually! Some buttery oak as well, and some drying seaweed. Golden malt, lemon zest and hint of damp rock with more time.
Texture: Medium-heavy weight, rounder and softer, but quite spicy / peppery. Not in a harsh or hot way though, in fact it hides its strength & relatively young age very well.
Taste: Yep, definitely creme brulee. Rich vanilla custard and blow-torched demerara sugar, or even coffee crystals (crystallised light brown sugar) and a slight touch of pineapple. More heather honey, then drying out with a spicy, dry, earthy peat. A bit of aniseed, lemon and more vanilla custard.
Finish: Medium-long length. Fresh green chilli and mixed peppercorns, stays reasonably dry after that with more heather and that dry, spicy, earthy peat. Some dried lemon peel, golden biscuit-y malt and a bit of ashy smoke to finish.
Score: 4 out of 5.
Notes: A noticeably different whisky to its predecessors in the series, although it is aligned with PC8 in character, but with more depth, offering a rounder and more mellow experience. It's almost as if PC10 is showing that it has come of age, which is probably the idea, but I should add that I didn't find PC6 or PC7 to be immature at all. Like PC8 this ten-year old does feel like there were only a few sherry casks in the mix, or perhaps none at all, especially in comparison with PC7 & 9. Which is not a criticism of course, it's just a different take on this delicious whisky. Certainly a Bruichladdich and of course also a Port Charlotte milestone regardless. Great stuff.
Overall Notes: What a series, and what an experience! Bruichladdich have kept up the same standards of quality with subsequent Port Charlottes, but somehow the current range feels more 'modern' to me than these older releases. And yes, that could just be in my head, but I would offer that it's also due to the addition of (red) wine casks in the core range. Wine casks have always been one of Bruichladdich's strengths, and they have released some phenomenal wine cask-matured whiskies, but in the case of Port Charlotte I think they give a more "polished" feel with less of that desirable "roughness" that many whisky nerds love. Again, that's not a criticism, it's just a different angle on Islay malts, which is the name of the game after all. Having eight (and soon nine) Islay distilleries producing the same whisky would take the fun out of it!
And now, the definitive question in a mini-series like this. How would I rank the eight whiskies in the PC_ series? Well, wonder no longer. My ranking would be PC6, PC7, PC5, PC9, PC11, PC10, PC12 and PC8. But there's no loser in this race, they're all great whiskies and are basically pieces of modern-Islay and Bruichladdich / Port Charlotte history at this stage. And what an honour to have tasted them all!
Which brings us to the end of this Port Charlotte PC_ mini-series! I hope you've enjoyed reading about them as much as I've enjoyed tasting them. The entire series are very enjoyable and are great quality whiskies, and they're all milestones in the journey of Port Charlotte, but in the end my overall favourite is definiely PC6. The sheer volume of flavour & texture on offer there was incredible, and very memorable. I think I'll need to track down a bottle of that one before it's too late. Thanks again to the generous whisky fanatic that provided the samples for these reviews, and made this mini-series possible!
Cheers!
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