Valinch & Mallet Port Mourant The Spirit of Art 1997

Valinch and Mallet bottled this single cask of Port Mourant from the 1997 vintage in its Spirit of Art series, twenty-five years old. Port Mourant runs off the double wooden pot still, the heaviest and most distinctive in Guyana, and the 1997 vintage is a favourite among drinkers for its rounded, fruity expression of that mark.

Molasses based and matured in port wood to a dry, unsweetened finish, it is structured and refined. The nose layers dried fruit, wood, leather and citrus, the palate brings complex fruit, roasted wood and vanilla, and the finish stays dry with dried fruit, raisin and the classic herbal, bitter PM edge. The fruit and warmth bind the strength tightly. At just over 50 percent it is intense yet balanced, an elegant continental Port Mourant for drinkers who want depth without harshness.