Since the 2021 Special Releases are (finally) getting closer to Australian shores, it's high time that I reviewed my winner of the 2020 line-up, the mighty Lagavulin 12.
Lagavulin 12-year old does seem to be attracting more attention over the last couple of years, but compared to the more "shiny" releases from other distilleries it is still sitting in the shadows. This Islay stalwart's "Offerman Editions" are getting the lion's share (pun intended) of social media & PR glory these days, which makes no sense to me. The 12-year old is the only accessible cask strength Lagavulin, for one, and - in terms of attainable official bottlings at least - some of these releases are quite possibly the best examples of a spirit-driven peated Islay whisky that you'll find anywhere. The amount of distillery character on show, and the magnificent oily texture, and certainly the natural presentation (cask strength and no colouring or chill filtration) make it a far better example of Lagavulin than just about anything, unless you're lucky enough to get to the distillery for a Feis Ile or Jazz Festival bottling, or you've taken part in one of Ian McArthur's legendary warehouse tastings. If you're sold on Islay whisky but have moved away from the likes of Lagavulin 16 and the 8-year old in favour of bigger whiskies from other distilleries, get yourself a bottle of the 12-year old. Add water if needed and let it breathe both in the glass and in the bottle, and you'll be well-rewarded. This whisky deserves much more attention than it receives!
The 12-year old does vary with each annual release, and as you'd expect some are better than others. But I'm yet to taste a "bad" one! Luckily for us in Australia they have been reasonably easy to obtain, although supply was more sporadic in the past - the 2015 and 2016 iterations were never imported into Australia, which I suspect was because the importers over-ordered the 2014 release which then took a long time to sell through. The latter of those two lapses in the series did hurt Australian fans a little more than usual, since the 2016 release was the distillery's 200th anniversary bottling, which was as delicious as you'd expect. Thankfully a few Australian retailers did parallel import (bypassing the local distributors) a small amount of stock, but the numbers were low, and the prices were high as a result. Regardless of your location, if you did manage to get your hands on either of those, then you've done well! Thankfully from 2017-on we've seen a steady supply of Lagavulin 12 down under, and that year also happened to be one of the best that we've seen in recent years - previously reviewed here. In my opinion the 2018 release that followed it was the low point in the series to date - still a solid whisky as they always are, but not on the same level as the other vintages that I've tasted. That 2018 release was also the last Lagavulin 12 to be presented in the "traditional" understated packaging with its brown glass, simplistic labelling and plain black carton which had featured since the debut of the 12-year old back in 2002. Thankfully the 2019 and this 2020 release that followed, with their elaborate new labels and their clear glass bottles, have both been excellent!
The 2020 Special Releases were very similar to the 2019 batch that preceded them, both in appearance as far as packaging and design, and also because they featured the exact same list of distilleries - different whiskies of course, but from the same distilleries. Notably there was no Caol Ila release in either batch, nor Port Ellen or Brora - that's probably because the dwindling stocks of the latter two are being held back for their "Prima & Ultima" mega-priced releases, but the missing Caol Ila was a little surprising. Interestingly both the 2019 & 2020 batches featured an older bottling of Mortlach, a 26-year old and then a 21-year old, which were the most expensive releases in their respective batches. Some would justifiably say they were overpriced, particularly when compared with the twin 30-year old Dalwhinnies from the same batches that were priced significantly lower. Both the 2019 & 2020 releases were themed "Rare By Nature", which is why they featured various flora & fauna on their labelling & packaging. As I'm sure most of us have already seen, the 2021 Special Releases is themed "Legends Untold", and features more "cartoony" artwork with stylised wildlife, or even mythical creatures. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing, far from it - in fact I think the new packaging looks amazing, particularly on the outer tubes / outer packaging. The surprise additions to this new and (for those of us in Australia) upcoming batch are a Royal Lochnagar, an Oban and a younger virgin oak-influenced Mortlach, and like the 2019 & 2020 batches all eight releases in the series carry age statements. There's also a refill cask 8-year old Talisker that is said to be from their "smokiest reserves", which promises to be interesting. Word is the 2021 releases will finally hit Australian shores in late March (2022). I hope there's plenty of stock coming, since like almost everything lately they're going to be flying off the shelves!
On to the subject at hand. The 2020 Lagavulin 12-year old follows the same proven recipe as the twenty annual bottlings that have preceded it since 2002. Matured in refill casks (which will be refill American oak ex-bourbon hogsheads) and bottled at cask strength - 56.4% ABV in this case - without chill filtration or added colouring. There is always minimal input from the casks in these cask strength Lagavulins, which allows the oily, dirty, sweet & smoky spirit to shine through beautifully with that coastal, minerally, citrus-y character that Islay drinkers can't get enough of. Let's get to it!
Matured in refill casks (presumably refill ex-bourbon hogsheads). Non-chill filtered, natural colour.
Colour: Very pale gold.
Nose: Big & powerful, smoky & dirty. A little nippy initially after breathing time. Aniseed, oily dirty smoke (diesel fumes come to mind!), salty & briny. Cracked black pepper, touches of dried lemon and something vegetal - as in fresh root vegetables, maybe parsnip? Dry seaweed, salmon baked in rock salt, and sweet maltiness comes through with more time.
Texture: Medium weight. Rich & very oily. Smoky, dirty & mouth-coating. No heat at all.
Taste: Dirty oily smoke again, think diesel fumes, but there's some clean olive oil in there too. Sweet malt with ashy warm peat smoke (must be what the Port Ellen Maltings smells like!) and more of that dried lemon & thick brine. Touch of baked black olives, maybe a couple of anchovies in there too. The smoke turns a little acrid & bitter heading into the finish.
Finish: Medium-long length. Dirty smoke and ashy peat carry through, with the black pepper and olive oil following close behind. That vegetal note returns but it's turning towards bitter here. Then the sweet maltiness and dried lemon, brine too. Slight yeasty note to finish - baked olive bread.
Score: 4 out of 5.
Notes: It's possibly not the most complex or complicated example, but it's delicious regardless! I think Mezcal drinkers would be right at home here. Big dirty smoke and ashy peat, vegetal & sweet malty spirit. Just what the doctor ordered on a stormy afternoon! I feel like there's slightly more cask influence here than there was in the 2019 release, and both are far above the 2018 in quality if you ask me. Make no mistake though, this 2020 release is still very much a spirit-driven affair, we're talking about a very minor difference and it's neither a positive nor a negative.
Lagavulin 12 always makes me wish that more Islay distilleries would let their spirit character shine more often - particularly the other two that neighbour Lagavulin on the southern shore... Yes, both do cask- or high strength examples but they're also quite cask driven - and yes I'm looking at you, Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength and Ardbeg Corryvreckan - which leaves the refill cask opportunities to the independent bottlers. Let's hope we see more of the same with the pending arrival of the Lagavulin 12 2021 in Australia. And lease keep the Lagavulin 12s coming Diageo, there's no need to mess with this winning formula!
Cheers!
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