Silver Seal Port Mourant Demerara 2003

Silver Seal is a collector-respected Italian bottler of unsweetened single casks, and this 2003 is drawn from Port Mourant, the legendary double wooden pot still that anchors old navy Demerara. At fourteen years, finished in Port and reduced to 46%, it shows a lighter, brighter take on a marque better known for oily heft.

The nose is fresh and fruity, tropical fruit and woodiness laced with a glassy ester and glue note that signals real pot still character. The palate keeps that lift, tropical fruit and vanilla over nuttiness and wood, before an earthy, peppery, vanilla-tinged finish. This is Port Mourant at its more elegant and grassy, the Port cask adding a little roundness without obvious sweetness, a fresher and more accessible version of the style for drinkers who find full-proof PM too dense.