Waterford Fenniscourt Edition 1.1

Fenniscourt 1.1 is the lighter of Waterford's first two peated releases, distilled in 2018 from barley grown by the Byrne family at Fenniscourt in Co. Carlow, land the family has farmed since 1870. The rich Elton series soils along the River Barrow were kiln dried using sphagnum rich peat cut from Niall Carroll's Ballyteige bog in Co. Kildare, taking the barley to 38ppm. Together with Ballybannon 1.1, this release marked the first Irish single malt in generations to combine Irish barley with Irish peat, the historical practice having largely died out by the 1850s. Part of the Arcadian Series. An outturn of 11,898 bottles, each carrying the TÉIREOIR code linking to the full farm and cask records.

Fenniscourt was fermented for 187 hours, one of the longest fermentations in the Waterford catalogue. Maturation ran four years across four cask types: 33% first fill American oak, 18% virgin American oak, 20% premium French oak and 29% Vin Doux Naturel. First fill Bourbon contributes vanillin and coconut lactones. Virgin American oak adds toasted sugar and raw lignin spice. French oak delivers finer tannins with clove phenolics. The high Vin Doux Naturel proportion, from casks previously used for fortified sweet wines of southern France, balances the peat with oxidised fruit and concentrated sweetness. Bottled at 50% without chill filtration or added colour.

The nose is earthy and herbal with soil, dewy grass, dried rosemary and sourdough. The palate shows soft peat with lemon, samphire, warm grain and a dry peppery finish.