Glenfarclas The Family Casks 14 Years Old 2000 Cask #4075

A 14 year old Glenfarclas, a distillery bottling, from 2000, cask 4075, at 58.5%, 180 bottles in all. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt from Ballindalloch, in the heart of Speyside. It was licensed in 1836 under Robert Hay and bought in 1865 by John Grant for 511 pounds. Its spirit is matured almost wholly in sherry butts brought up from Jerez.

It was distilled to a rich, generous cut, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. It was fully matured in an Oloroso sherry cask, the wood deep in the rich spirit. In integration coconut and vanilla knit with the malt, the orchard notes deepening to sultana, date and chocolate. The full spirit deepens with time, the cask drawing out its darker register. The cool, slow dunnage ageing loses little to evaporation, the spirit holding its depth. Years in oak deepen the spirit to a darker gold, the body growing rounder and more resinous with time.

At a natural 58.5% it is full and rich. A rich, sherried sweetness, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. A baked apple and a warm cinnamon lift the middle. The finish is long, rich and spiced. This is the family sherry malt of Ballindalloch.