Glenfarclas is no stranger to full-term oloroso maturation – indeed, much of their stock does down this well-trodden path. Here we have a refill ex-oloroso sherry butt utilised for a whole decade.
Nose: Fruits and pastries – baked apples and juicy pears with red berry preserves, toffee sponge, vanilla cream and toast. Running throughout cashews and hazelnuts with cookie dough and rising bread mix. Reduction adds a fabric dimension with sack cloth and hessian alongside spun sugar and crispy meringue.
Taste: Apple crumble and poached pears sit with raspberry jam tarts and hazelnuts whilst pepper and cinnamon spicing is joined by brown sugars and malt cake. Water reveals molasses, toffee and chocolate with charred cask staves and golden syrup.
Finish: Quite long and quite malty now – golden barley, malt loaf with touches of leather and fading red berries
There’s two things to note about this 10 year old Glenfarclas – firstly there’s enough sherry influence here that I’m surprised it has been ‘housed’ in the Spicy & Dry category. Secondly, my notes read surprisingly like a description for an OB Glenfarclas 10 year old – and that’s because this is pretty much exactly that, albeit delivered at a cracking ABV. Solid stuff, but incredibly familiar all the same.