A ridiculously rare 58-year old single cask of Macallan, independently bottled under Gordon & MacPhail's "Speymalt from Macallan Distillery" label, and bottled over a decade ago. Not exactly an everyday occurrence!
Firstly, a disclaimer, I do not normally review Gordon & MacPhail (G&M) products on this site, solely because I do some part-time work for the company's Australian importer & distributor, Alba Whisky. So in the interests of full impartiality from both perspectives - not that I would let it affect / skew my reviews or scores anyway - I haven't reviewed any G&M products since that work began. But I'm making an exception for this special bottling, for a few reasons: firstly it's a single cask that was bottled 12-years ago and is long-discontinued and has long-sold out, so nobody can really buy one anyway. Secondly, because this sample came from a generous private / third party who owns the actual bottle. And thirdly because it's a 58-year old Speymalt Macallan that was distilled in 1950 - and that's something that needs to be shared! That said, in no way will any of these factors affect my review or scoring of this whisky, as is always the case here this review will be completely honest and impartial, and will only be my personal opinion. After all, to do anything else would defeat the purpose of writing the review in the first place!
This incredibly rare cask of whisky, refill sherry butt (500-litre) cask number 1684, was filled with new make spirit under the instruction of G&M's John Urquhart at Macallan Distillery on the 10th of November 1950, and was bottled at Gordon & MacPhail's HQ in Elgin on the 29th of September 2009, under the instruction of John's son Michael. Yes, we know the exact date that this cask was filled with spirit at Macallan over seven decades ago, which is incredible. The Urquhart family have owned Gordon & MacPhail for over 125 years, roughly 20 years after the company was founded as a grocery store in Elgin in 1895, since the original John Urquhart began as an apprentice in the early 1900s and became senior partner following the retirement of James Gordon and the passing of John MacPhail in 1915. Amazingly that original grocery store in Elgin is still there, and it actually still sells grocery items, albeit with an incredible whisky room and also an adjoining wine room attached. Like many of the historic independent bottlers and blenders G&M started out by sourcing whiskies for their own in-house blends that were to be sold from the shopfront, which in this case led to the company becoming Scotland's largest and second-oldest surviving independent bottler of Scotch whisky. This is also one of the few privately owned - and family owned - operations in the industry- in fact the company has been owned & run by four generations of the Urquhart family. G&M is also one of the few independent bottlers that sources new make spirit from the distilleries that is subsequently filled into G&M's own casks, rather than being offered parcels of maturing/mature casks by either the distillery owners, or more commonly third-party brokers. Where applicable G&M also leave many of those casks to initially mature on-site in the distillery's own warehouses before transferring the cask/s to their own warehouses in Elgin for longer-term maturation. Those major points of difference are largely thanks to the century-long relationships that the company has with many of these distilleries, and is also why G&M can name the responsible distilleries and the actual sources of their casks on their labels, while other bottlers & companies have to resort to using code names, shorthand abbreviations or even undisclosed "mystery" bottlings instead.
Gordon & MacPhail also have a massive arsenal of old-to-very-old casks slumbering in their warehouses, often more than the original distillery owns, and there are plenty of unconfirmed rumours around regarding distillery owners purchasing older casks 'back' from Gordon & MacPhail to become official bottlings. There are plenty of older releases from G&M though, to the point where 40+ year old single malts seem almost commonplace! In fact the company is responsible for the oldest single malt whiskies ever bottled, and they've since actually broken their own records twice now - the first being the 70-year old Mortlach that was released in 2008, then a 75-year old Mortlach in 2015, and now an 80-year old Glenlivet in 2021. If you've done some quick mental arithmetic there you'll note that all three of those casks would've been filled during World War II or in the lead-up to it, which makes them all the more incredible since many distilleries were either operating under severe restrictions or were shut down completely at the time. And let's not forget the incredible rarity of a single cask of whisky making it through such a long period of maturation without leaking, becoming over-oaked and dry/tannic, or dropping below the minimum bottling strength of 40% ABV that is permitted in Scotch whisky. For a cask to make it that long is bordering on miraculous, and while an amount of luck is involved it's also testament to G&M's skills and commitment that have remained paramount over that huge period of time, from sourcing incredible quality casks - many of which were sherry 'transport' and bodega casks with very thick staves, from a time when the idea of a two-year old "sherry seasoned" cask wouldn't have gotten very far - to sourcing great quality spirit from the correct distilleries, and then carefully watching and managing the casks over seven-to-eight decades of maturation in their warehouses, before the time was finally right to share them with the world. Even a 40-year old whisky is a very rare thing, so for a cask to make it to double that age is absolutely astonishing, and it really does make you wonder what they're going to come up with next!
Now, on to the matter at hand. "Speymalt from Macallan Distillery" is of course G&M's label for their bottlings from Macallan Distillery, and they only use the "Speymalt" name for this one Speyside distillery which is near the town of Aberlour, to be exact. Macallan probably needs no introduction, their official bottlings would easily be one of the most heavily marketed and widely known whisky brands in the industry. It was originally / officially founded in 1824, but while older buildings still stand the production buildings have now been mothballed, and the new distillery is now adjacent to the original site, and no longer looks anything like the photo above. The new gargantuan plant opened in 2018 and is a massive modern complex that resembles what I'd imagine Area 51 to look like - a dozen massive warehouses that are large enough to house dozens of UFOs inside, alongside massive camouflaged buildings that are actually subterranean in design, complete with grass growing over their roofs giving the appearance of undulating grassy knolls. Inside those buildings you'll find a very modern design, including exposed beams & support struts, plus Scotland's largest mash tun, 21 steel wash backs a whopping 36 pot stills - thankfully of a similar size and identical design to the originals. Macallan is now vying with Glenlivet and Glenfiddich to be Scotland's largest malt whisky distillery in terms of production capacity, although those two are also expanding.
Back in 1950 when this whisky was distilled that all would've been unthinkable. World War II had only ended five years prior, but the recovery was still taking place, and there were still shortages around - coal being one example, which was now the popular fuel used to dry the barley at the end of the malting process. So Macallan was actually supplementing their coal supplies with small amounts of an older, more traditional fuel source - peat! This practice didn't continue at Macallan past the early 1950s as coal became readily available again, so this whisky could well have been one of the last from those lightly peated distillation runs. Obviously being a light peating level to begin with and after nearly six decades of maturation that peat influence will likely be extremely subtle if not impossible to detect, but in the other two Macallans that I've tasted from this era (I've been very lucky!) - a 40% ABV 1946 vintage 52-year old official bottling from 1998, and a younger sibling of the subject of this review, a 56-year old 1950 vintage Speymalt Macallan from G&M - there was certainly a subtle earthiness which I assume was coming from that light peating level in the spirit. Macallan have actually released a 1950 vintage single cask themselves which also contained lightly peated spirit, as part of their exceptionally expensive Exceptional Casks range of official bottlings. That was bottled in 2018 as a 67-year old and was bottled at a cask strength of 53.4% ABV, with an original retail price of around $60,000 USD - or well north of $80,000 AUD, in fact probably at least $90,000 with our local pricing factored in. Now, yes this 58-year old G&M is an older bottling and it spent almost a decade less in its cask compared to that more recent and older official bottling, but that sort of money would be enough to fund the purchase of, if you could find the stock of course, more than five bottles of this 58-year old Speymalt Macallan single cask from Gordon & MacPhail...
Before we get into this review, I'd like to thank the very generous owner of this bottle for giving me a sample of this precious liquid - totally unprompted, I might add. Costs aside, whiskies of this vintage and age are pieces of Scotch whisky and Scottish history in potable liquid form, and the gravity of this situation should always be considered and appreciated if & when the opportunity comes along to taste anything like this. If memory serves, this is the second-oldest whisky that I've ever tasted, so it certainly has been considered and is appreciated in this case! Let's get to it!
Distilled November 10th 1950, matured in a single refill sherry butt (initially at Macallan Distillery then moved to G&M warehouses in Elgin), bottled September 29th 2009. Natural colour, presumed non-chill filtered.
Colour: Dark amber, verging on polished brown.
Nose: Rich & deep, very complex. Anyone who complains about 40-43% bottling strengths in the modern era should get the chance to try these older G&M bottlings - they're on a different level! Layers of soft old leather, waxed old wood and oily furniture polish, balanced with rich, soft, dry baking spices, baked red apple & stone fruit, and floral, sweet Turkish delight. The red apple note grows with more time & more warmth, and adds a touch of liquorice straps, plus raisins soaked in quality old dark rum.
Texture: Medium weight. Silky, soft, deep & rich. No sign of any alcohol / heat whatsoever.
Taste: Earthy & softly spicy (baking spices) on entry, then that oily furniture polish. That earthy note is slightly drying, like the residue in an old fireplace, but subtle and very soft. The rum-soaked raisins and soft old leather again then, and more red fruit here rather than the stone fruit. Lovely.
Finish: Medium-long length. Definite soft earthy peat smoke here - incredible. The red apple comes across as dried now, then currants, and even dried figs. Baking spices again, and a touch of that soft old leather and liquorice. Touch of excellent old dark rum and dried fruit underneath.
Score: 4.5 out of 5. And close to a 5, in fact.
Notes: Wow. Amazing "old school" whisky in every way, without any sign of excessive wood influence or cask influence. Again, this is my personal opinion alone, but this is magnificent. I could nose this dram for hours, and there'd be plenty of involuntary "phwoar" noises uttered the entire time. But unlike in some cases where the palate and finish are a let down following a great nose, this Speymalt Macallan is beautiful across the entire experience. The sheer character, depth, and complexity, yes even at "only" 43%, is brilliant. Don't even let the thought of a modern "sherry bomb" or sherry-treated whisky creep into your head, this whisky is an entirely different ballgame. Balanced, complex, stunning. Balanced and full of subtleties but without any risk of being shy, challenging, or difficult to access. A warm welcome of a whisky, gentle and inviting, but not loud, shouty or showboat-y. What a treat!
I have to say this 58-year old certainly beats both the 52-year old Macallan official bottling and the 56-year old Speymalt Macallan that I've been lucky enough to try previously - albeit years ago now. It's richer and "darker" in feel/style than both, and has more peat smoke - while still very subtle of course - left intact, particularly on the finish. An amazing piece of whisky history that should not be taken lightly, and it hasn't been. What a great way to ring in the new year! Thanks again to the generous owner.
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Share your thoughts & opinion on my opinion!