Port Charlotte MC:01 2009

Part of the revamping of the Port Charlotte line a few years ago other than the 10 yr old & the Islay Barley was to consolidate the Cask Strength offerings. Up till then there was usually an annual release with the PC moniker (up to PC12 I believe) and then a few other including the travel retail CC:01 which was finished in Cognac Cask (a very good one if you can still find it).

The first two releases consisted of MRC:01 finished in Bordeaux Red wine cask and today's concern MC:01. It was originally planned as a travel retail only release but through some shipping SNAFU Canada distributors received this for retail, hooray for us.

The make-up of this is

*48% French Oak casks for 6 years *52% American Whiskey casks for 6 years. *Combined and Finished in ex-Sicilian wine casks for 2 years (read Marsala)

Nose: Yeasty, pineapple upside down cake and a bit of stone fruit. Cold coffee, a slight coppery edge, oily smoke, slight dusty dunnage type notes, old wood.

Palate: Egg custards (flan, crème caramel), slight sulfur but then it is overwhelmed by coffee, sticky toffee pudding, smoke, a bit of smoked fish and seaweed, green peppercorn and ginger. I feel like there might be some European oak at play. (notes taken before I knew of the components)

Finish: Slightly ashy, sweet, dried fruit (apricots, peaches) and cigar tobacco. dry smoke like from a fireplace.

Notes: The palate threatens to be brimstoned but that is saved by the marsala's yeasty edge and the intensity of the interplay between the peat and the sweet marsala. A really formidable expression, this is one where a sample won't really do, my bottle really transformed after a few weeks/months of being open. It went from alright to irresistible.

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