Glenfiddich has done some interesting experiments with casks, and that road has led to some interesting results. Still, you might consider past efforts to be a little conservative- a dip in the water.
Perhaps the new Grand Cru 23 Year Old might change your mind.
Just one thing before we begin: don’t mention the C Word.
Committing to Creativity
Glenfiddich isn’t a stranger to experimentation; there have been some forays into IPA Casks, Icewine casks with the Winter Storm and rum casks with the Fire & Cane, among others. Those have been experiments, however, and aren’t part of the “main” lineup- which to date consists of the 12, 15, 18, 21 Year olds (The Glenfiddich Distillery Malt Whisky is also not a limited edition in the common sense- each is unique, but they haven’t stopped making them).
The new Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 Year Old, however, is part of the core lineup, and malt addicts will be able to get their hands on a bottle for the foreseeable future.
That is not to say that there hasn’t been experimentation in the Grand Cru 23 Year Old. The cask finish movement in Scotch Whisky has been rumbling along for a long time now, and many wine casks have been used to great effect to impart fruity flavours to whisky.
Casks, used to make wine destined to become sparkling wines, particularly those from a certain region in Northern France, have rarely been used. Those sparkling wines might be called Champagne, but a close inspection of the whisky’s bottle yields no mention of the “C” word.
Channeling Chanel
The look that’s been chosen for the new whisky is, appropriately, a luxurious one, too. Housed in an “explosive” black box, the new expression is stoppered within a mirror-sheen black bottle with pale gold trimming, giving it a high-fashion-esque elegance.
While we wouldn’t call Glenfiddich bottles ugly by any means, a cursory glance at the other whiskies will put the new whisky firmly in its own class.
We’re not particularly drawn to luxury per se, but we do admit that this new look piques our interest. Glenfiddich has quite clearly started work on high end, high-concept malts, much like Macallan has in past years. The Grand Cru is but the first in a new Grand series, with the next two to follow in 2020.
What does it all mean?
Well, we’re not quite sure now, but that’s the exciting part; the distillery is starting to make changes. Changes, good or bad, are exciting.
The “C” Word
If you take exception to Glenfiddich (and us) dancing around the term “Champagne”, allow us to explain.
The term “Champagne” refers to sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France; it proclaims and the wine’s origins. It is not a mere name- over seventy different governments recognise and protect the term; meaning that misusing the term could face legal consequences.
Champagne’s definition includes the term “sparkling wine” as well. In Champagne, a method named the Méthode Champenoise or Traditional Method is used to add the bubbles that we love so much. Long story short, a base wine is made (a first fermentation), then put in a bottle for a second fermentation. Sugar and yeast is added to the wine, and the bottle then sealed. This creates additional alcohol and, more importantly, carbon dioxide within the bottle. Those are the bubbles required for sparkling wine.
Notice the important part- the sparkling part of the sparkling wine is created in the bottle, not in casks! Even still wines from the champagne region cannot be called Champagne. They are called Coteaux Champenois, instead.
So, it wouldn’t actually be correct to call the Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 Year Old a champagne-casked whisky. It’s not pedantry; no one wants to get sued. 23 Year Old Coteaux Champenois Cask doesn’t have a good ring to it, either.
Effervescent
Nose: A very clear scent of green apples, white grapes, lemon peel and vanilla to start. The light fruitiness deepens into confectionery aroma of light honey, cream, French apple pastry (brioche, if you will) and orange marmalade. Right at the end, we get stone fruits- apricots and yellow peaches.
Palate: Sweet honey, lemon flavours followed by vanilla, cream, pastry flavours, then rich pears, baked apples and white grapes.
Finish: Light and pleasantly dry. Some light wood flavours and some cloves.
As for how much flavour the cask finishing added to the whisky, we can only speculate. The “C” wines have light fruit flavours, such as apples and lemons, that might have been the casks’ gift to the whisky. The “Cs” typically have distinctive bread or biscuit-like flavours. Since that comes from lees contact (with the dead yeast in the second fermentation) within the bottle, we didn’t expect this influence. We were half correct; we got a brioche flavour instead. Curious. Perhaps those were inherited from the American and European oak casks.
Summing it All Up
We really like this one. It’s got a lightness and subtlety that we enjoy. It’s efferverscent in flavour, if not in texture. Bright notes from the “classic” Glenfiddich house style of honey, pears and green apples rise to lift the palate.
All the while, it exhibits sophistication and balanced richness beyond its younger counterparts. While some of the other experiments resemble the “classical” Glenfiddich, this one signs off the distillery’s name with a bold, almost florid hand.
Alas, this quality comes at a price. The Grand Cru retails at S$350, which puts it in the affordable luxury range, but still a luxury.
Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 Year Old is available at DFS Changi, with a recommended retail price of S$350.
