Edradour 1997 11 Year Old Chateau Neuf Du Pape Finish

Edradour is known for its finishes, bottles in the series ‘Straight from the Cask’, meaning this is single cask whisky at cask strength. This one is a challenging 57,2%, 12 years old and received a maturation in a hogshead for 10 years, before being re-racked for 18 monhts in a Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine cask.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which means ‘the new castle of the pope’, is a famous village annex castle in the wine region of the Rhône. The wine is produced from a whole range of grapes. The most important ones are the Grenache Noir, Syrah and Cinsaut (red wijn), Grenach Blanc, Clairette Rose and Roussanne (white and rosé wine).

The wine is very prominent on the nose, insofar that you have to look for the whisky (the same happened with the Sauternes finish). And after a minute or two, I get some ‘dirty’, organic notes (cooked vegetables?), that are a bit off-putting. Adding a bit of water merely gives the nose a sour lining, something a little burned.

It’s less fierce than initially expected at 57,2%, and immediately turns wondrously sweet. I get some dark fruits such as raisins and maybe even figs. After the somewhat off-putting nose, this is a welcome change. The addition of water turns it a little bit sour. Different, sure, but not very nice.

The finish last very long, is nicely spiced, but drying and a little bitter, like the peels of chestnuts. Very oaky.

Again, the taste needs to make up for the nose, but barely succeeds.

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