These old official Macallans are sailing into the stratosphere in terms of price at auction these days; to the point that I scarcely consider them on my radar anymore. Which is a pity as many of them were excellent whiskies. Always a pleasure to revisit them. Colour: Amber. Nose: A rather pure aroma of old sherry. VORS Oloroso poured fresh in the Bodega (ahhh Jerez!), some well-aged Cognac, a little prune juice, wet earth, dried wild mushrooms and some chopped sultanas. A bit of orange zest, linseed oil, furniture polish and some spiced mead. The kind of oomphy, super clean and wonderfully rich sherry that is pretty non-existent these days. Mouth: Pure decadence. It's the epitome of this deeply opulent house style that Macallan built their name upon (who mentioned subsequent demolition…?). Leathery, lots of citrus fruit peel, earth, umami paste, black olives, some dried herbs such as rosemary and mint, then darjeeling tea and a touch of cough medicine. Finish: Good but perhaps a tad short of soft. Still lingering dark fruits and an increasingly bitter and rather wonderful chocolate note. Comments: At times the strength feels just right; at others it smacks slightly of weakness - particularly in the finish. However, it's a beautiful and extremely fine old Macallan. The kind of sherry profile that people go a bit doolally for these days. SGP: 652 - 89 points.

---

Show more

---

---

Show less

---