Edradour 1st Fill Pinot Noir Cask 13 Years Old 2012

Edradour from the distillery, a 13 year old, from 2012, cask 715, at 48.2%, 840 bottles in all. Edradour is a small batch Highland malt, owned by the independent bottler Signatory Vintage. Under Signatory the range has grown to a wide run of sherry and wine cask bottlings.

Made in the smallest of stills and condensed in worm tubs, for a full, oily make of dried fruit and chocolate. Finished in a Pinot Noir cask, the wood building over the oily, full bodied spirit. By the integrating teens congeners fade and esters build, the rich, oily spirit growing creamier. Active wood frames the rich fruit without overwhelming the oily Highland spirit. The cool Highland air of the glen gives a slow, even maturation in the small Edradour warehouses. Maturation in the dunnage warehouses at Pitlochry is slow and steady. The full bodied spirit shows the cask clearly, the sherry and oak to the fore.

At a natural 48.2% it is full and oily. Chocolate, dried fruit and a waxy oil, with a light red berry and a dry edge from the cask. Beneath it run dried fruit, chocolate and a soft oil. The finish runs long, nutty and warming. This is Edradour's full bodied, sherried Highland style.