Another (sadly) travel exclusive exotic Octomore that has been finished in wine casks - but this one might just have echoes of the legendary 4.2 Comus! I was very lucky to get my hands on a bottle of this one, not long before the Covid crisis really hit its stride.
While Octomore has always been something of a numbers game and a lesson in excess - from high strengths and low ages, to massively high ppm measurements, the 10-series has diverged from that M.O. The ages are still relatively low, and the strengths are still high, but those ppm measurements are down - way down. The most heavily-peated malt used in this series was just 114 ppm with the 10.3 Islay Barley, and the lowest was 88 with the 10.4 Virgin Oak - that's very nearly the lowest number used in any Octomore to date, only beaten by 2012's first 10-year old release which weighed in at 80.5. They're still high numbers of course, but they're starkly different from the days of the legendary 309.1 ppm 8.3 and the incredible 258 ppm 6.3. The distillery has acknowledged this difference by declaring that this series "explores a realm of softer smoke", and then basically asking us to ignore the numbers this time around - which is certainly a change in approach from the past releases of Octomore, and when discussing this particular whisky in general. But we know that the numbers don't always mean a great deal - particularly those ppm measurements - and are really only indicators. The proof is in the pudding! It's also important to remember that the distillery doesn't dictate these measurements to the maltsters (Bairds in Inverness), and this process can only be controlled to a certain extent before nature takes over and has the final say. The entire Octomore concept started by letting the maltsters loose and cold-smoking the malting barley for as long as possible to absorb as much peat smoke as possible, to the point when the barley just refuses to absorb any more, which is why the figures have varied so much over the years. The fact that these new bottlings are lower in those figures is nothing to worry about, if anything they'll just be a slightly different style of the Octomore that we know & love.
This travel-exclusive 10.2 release is a first for Octomore. It follows on from 9.2, which was a 156-ppm 5-year old release that had been matured in first-fill bourbon casks for four years and finished in second-fill Bordeaux red wine casks for a fifth year. This new release is almost a polar opposite, using 'only' 96.9 ppm malt, and being eight years old - which is actually middle-aged in Octomore terms. The main difference though is in how it has spent those eight years of maturation. 10.2 was matured in ex-bourbon casks for the first half of its life, and then moved into Sauternes sweet wine casks for another four years. Sauternes is a very highly-regarded sweet dessert-style wine, produced in the Bordeaux region in the south-west of France, where the grapes are affected by the Botrytis fungus (a.k.a. 'noble rot'), causing high levels of concentrated sweetness in the fruit. Longer-term Octomore followers will recognise the term from a legendary older release - Octomore 4.2 'Comus', which makes this new release a very exciting proposition! 4.2 was a 5-year old 167 ppm Octomore that was finished in Sauternes casks from Chateau d'Yquem (pronounced "de-kem"), from the days of private ownership where Bruichladdich directly named most of the vineyards that their casks came from. It's entirely possible that the Sauternes casks used for this 10.2 release were at least partially sourced from the same vineyard, but the distillery is no longer allowed to mention specifics or point fingers. What they have mentioned though is that the vineyard used these casks three times (for three separate fillings of Sauternes), meaning that the impact of the oak itself has been softened by the three cycles of wine maturation - but they're still first-fill casks as far as whisky is concerned. Octomore 10.2 was bottled at 56.9% after those eight years of maturation, and being a Bruichladdich single malt it is of course non-chill filtered and naturally coloured. Let's do this!
Distilled in 2010 from Scottish barley peated to 96.9 ppm, matured in first-fill bourbon casks for 4 years, moved to first-fill Sauternes dessert wine casks for another 4 years. Non-chill filtered, naturally coloured. Travel exclusive of 24,000 bottles.
Colour: Golden copper.
Nose: Ooh. Yes please. This is not one to rush. Malty, sweet & fruity. Very Bruichladdich. Golden malted barley, sweet tropical fruit - lychee, banana, cantaloupe/rockmelon & peach. Icing sugar and sweet lemons in syrup. Smoked honeycomb. Gets deeper with more breathing time, adding a light bonfire smoke, dark loose-leaf tea, some fresh oily putty and that trademark laddie lactic funk (think sweet cream cheese / yoghurt / baby vomit - but in a good way) . What a nose!
Texture: Medium-heavy weight, rich & oily. Decadent is the word. No heat at all.
Taste: Less sweet, but still rich and yes, decadent is definitely the word. More laddie lactic sweetness, some tinned peaches, more icing sugar and smoked honeycomb, lime juice, some ground ginger and creme brulee, and a little soft puff of dry, almost ashy peat smoke.
Finish: Long length. That soft dry peat smoke carries through, and doesn't go away, but it's certainly a lighter smoke than you may expect. Black pepper and sugared almonds - maybe marzipan. Then the smoked honeycomb and rich tropical fruit comes back - more melon and peach, and some more lime juice.
Score: 4 out of 5. Very close to a 4.5 though.
Notes: The nose on this Octomore is just amazing. Rich & full, sweet & decadent, it's a real treat for the senses! The palate doesn't disappoint either, but it could never have matched that nose for sheer complexity and depth. This is not your typical Octomore, and there isn't a massive amount of peat or smoke to be found, and it's far removed from the 10.1 that we looked at in the previous review. That lighter & softer style of peat influence doesn't hurt this whisky though, and even devout peat heads will surely appreciate the level of character & quality on offer here. Is it an Octomore though? Of course it is, it's written in big bold letters right there on the tin! The (natural) variance in peat level in both the measured malted barley and the subjective level of peat influence in the finished product are just part of the fun, and to my palate 10.2 doesn't smell or taste like there's anything missing. Besides, a (relatively) lightly peated Octomore is nothing new - from the outstanding OBA to the quad-distilled X4 concept bottling that followed it, and also the first 10-year old bottling for that matter, it's happened before.
The Sauternes casks here have added more tropical fruit & richness and have upped the sweetness, but they haven't overshadowed the spirit - the Bruichladdich trademarks of barley character, lactic funk and citrus are still very much intact. Sauternes casks really seem to work well for this distillery! There are little shades of the legendary 4.2 Comus here in this older but more recent Octomore, just not in terms of peat or smoke - more in sweetness and richness. 10.2 is not your everyday Octomore - in more ways than one - but it's no less fantastic because of that. And that nose is to die for. If you're a Bruichladdich fan, this is certainly one you'll want to tick off your list. Unfortunately it looks like you'll have to wait for the airports to re-open, but it's worth the wait. Maybe this crisis will make a few brands reconsider their reliance on travel retail exclusives?
Cheers!
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