Glenfarclas 15 Years Old (15th Anniversary WFNN)

A distillery release of Glenfarclas, a 15 year old, at 46%. Glenfarclas is a Speyside single malt drawn from the largest, direct fired stills in Speyside. Its spirit is matured almost wholly in sherry butts brought up from Jerez.

The spirit was worked unhurried through the stillhouse, shaping a rich Speyside body with real weight. It was fully matured in an Oloroso sherry cask, the wood deep in the rich spirit. At oxidative maturity aldehydes lend a nutty edge while ellagitannins draw a drying, structured grip across the fruit. Maturation runs slow and even in the dunnage warehouses at Ballindalloch. Vanillin and oak lactones from the wood lend vanilla and a soft coconut over the fruit. Long ageing turns the fresh notes towards date, prune and a dark, bittersweet chocolate. The wood frames the spirit without ever stripping the full Speyside body.

Reduced to 46%, it is mellow and sweet. A rich orchard sweetness and dark sugar, with dried fruit, fig and walnut from the cask. The mouthfeel is full and coating, the fruit dark and sweet. The finish is rounded, dark and spiced. This is a full bodied Speyside single malt of real richness.