The finish is a little on the short side, but still brings a pleasant dryness and notes of coffee and cocoa. It is my strong opinion that this whisky shines through on the palate. It's heavy, delicious and fun. However, it is also my opinion that you have to like red wine to appreciate this whisky.
The tannins from the red wine are clearly present in the whisky and work brilliantly with the GlenAllachie distillate! The world of red wine and the world of whisky are beautifully united. If you are the type of person who tends to enjoy a glass of whisky with their food, then this bottling is a great choice in my opinion.
For those who prefer a dram that stands completely on its own, there will still be enjoyment to be had here, but not much complexity. GlenAllachie's more traditional bottlings, in my opinion, offer more room to taste a complete palette, with the entire barrel ageing period clearly represented. This Cuvée version can better be described as a full-bodied and heavy red wine on steroids, which also has its time and place!
From Glenallachie website:
To create the The GlenAllachie Wine Cask Series, Master Blender Billy Walker first matured our whiskey in the finest American oak barrels, former ex-Bourbon casks, then the whiskey was transferred to hand-selected European wine barriques for secondary maturation. Billy added a distinctive twist to this release by blending four exceptional wine cask finishes for a unique expression: The Cuvée Wine Cask Finish.
A French term, 'Cuvée', is used in the wine industry to refer to a blend that typically includes more than one grape variety. Similarly, our 9-year-old Cuvée is the result of whisky aged in several fine vinfade, sourced from the world-famous regions of Bordeaux, Languedoc and Valpolicella.
The evolution of each barrique was carefully monitored before the whiskies were blended together by Billy Walker. The golden liquid offers elegant stone fruits, hints of roasted almonds and fresh orange peel on the palate.
This limited release is bottled unfiltered for flavor and without added color. Bottled at 48% ABV.
