Port Ellen 1983 26 Year Shinanoya 'Chess-Castling'

Nose: Oh, beautiful peat. It's briney with waxy lemon, and a very limited amount of tire and diesel fuel. Fruity, mangoes, apricots, quince jam. It just turns very lush tropical fruit. Slightly salty peat, vanilla, and licorice. Pressed violet petals or something floral. Full and still elegant. One of the more beautiful peat profiles that I've smelled.

Palate: Syrup and honeyed on entry. Sharp lemon juice with a kick, fiery pepper behind it. Honey. The peat here is rather darker than it was on the nose, on charcoally bbq. We get more vanilla, grapefruit, and flax seed. Nice and oily.

Finish: Spicy and peat and charcoal spent from the grill. Yes, there's even some BBQ sauce out there. More tire-rubber as well. Still some tangerine and grapefruit, but most fruit is gone. With water, the nose flattens a bit and reminds me even more of a mix of Caol Ila and Clynelish. Elegant and seductive with a spot of raw power. The palate is much more linear, as is the finish. Like the Flaming Heart, but less citrus and more there there. A-

The nose was really exceptional. It has some of the fantastic and powerful salty peat, but it has this fabulous fruity tone to it. The palate was a bit of a let-down with the loss of the fruit, but it's a beauty through and through

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