Caol Ila 10 Years Old 2009 (BB&R)

The London wine merchant Berry Bros and Rudd selected this Caol Ila, a 10 year old, distilled in 2009, bottled at 46%, one of 1183 bottles. Caol Ila is the quiet giant of Islay, vast yet refined. A few weeks each year the distillery runs an unpeated, Highland style spirit.

Here the spirit was drawn off a high cut from peated barley, building a refined, maritime peat. First fill bourbon gave it a fuller vanilla and a touch of coconut. Through the integration phase spirit and wood marry, vanillin settling into a rounded vanilla as the guaiacol phenols mellow into a softer smoke. Refill oak lets the maritime peat and lemon of the spirit lead the way. Long fermentations build the fruity, citrus notes that sit beneath the smoke. The tall stills and a high cut give a lighter, cleaner spirit than the southern Islays. The clean, oily spirit takes cask flavour well while holding its citrus and smoke.

Reduced to 46%, it is mellow. Ashy smoke, lemon oil and a saline tang, with vanilla and a honeyed edge from the cask. Soft smoke and citrus sit behind the cask. A long, coastal finish carries a peaty warmth. This is an elegant Islay single malt.