The 2010 Easter Elchies bottling was from a single sherry butt cask #432, distilled in 1997 and bottled in 2010.

Colour: dark amber. Nose: starts just like the Royal Marriage, that is to say dry and austere, but it’s soon to become rather fuller and fruitier, with more blood oranges, strawberry jam and raisins, but there’s also a faint dustiness in the background. Flour? Then roasted chestnuts and Demerara sugar, also a little balsamic vinegar as often. With water: no further development. Maybe a little more leather and mint, as well as a little bacon. Well, that’s some further development, I guess. Also a flintiness. Mouth (neat): rich, fruitful sherry, bursting with raspberries and strawberries, then orange liqueur and a little kirsch and other eaux-de-vie (stone fruits). Just like the RM, it’s a tad raw and a little too straight for me. Young, slightly immature sherry. With water: much nicer in my opinion, although not really more complex. Some spicy oak comes through (gingery, also curry-like notes). Finish: long, even spicier. Notes of new oak. Comments: pretty good but I wouldn’t say this one was very impressive. The oaky/gingery notes are a little odd in this context – ha, wood technology! Maybe an older version of the ‘Easter Elchies’ will be more to my liking? Let’s see… SGP:461 - 82 points.