The label says Westport and Highland, and keeps quiet about the rest. What it does reveal is who chose the cask: an Italian oenologist in Treviso, who moved this whisky into a wood that once held Marsala and then bottled it at full strength, no water added.
Expert description
Westport 2004/2019 Wilson & Morgan 15 year Marsala Finish is a Highland Blended Malt Scotch Whisky finished in a Marsala cask and bottled at 59.5%.
It belongs to Wilson & Morgan's Barrel Selection series and comes from one single cask, number 900095, which filled 265 bottles. The whisky was distilled in 2004 and bottled in 2019 after fifteen years in wood, and it goes into the bottle at the cask's own strength.
Westport is a brand name rather than a distillery, and the label does not say which distillery made the spirit. Wilson & Morgan has used the name for sherry-matured releases too. What the whisky sat in during its first years is not stated; at the end it was moved into a Marsala cask.
Marsala is a fortified wine from Sicily. On the back label, Wilson & Morgan describe its influence as light-handed but obvious. The nose recalls a refill sherry cask, while the palate is dry, almost austere, with nuts and pepper leading.
Wilson & Morgan is based in Treviso, north of Venice, and has bottled Scotch whisky since 1992. Founder Fabio Rossi comes from a family of wine merchants and trained as an oenologist in Conegliano, which explains the house habit of finishing malts in sherry, port and Marsala casks. The Marsala bottlings have become something of a signature.
Tasting notes
Nose
Winey, nutty and a little sour. On the first sniff it could pass for a refill sherry cask, almost traditional.
Palate
The Marsala cask shows itself clearly but with a light touch. Biscuity and very dry, almost austere, with pepper and nuts up front before a fruity, slightly sharp attack.
Finish
Strength and spice keep building all the way out, and the finish ends warm and peppery rather than soft.
Specifications
Name: Westport 2004/2019 Wilson & Morgan 15 year Marsala Finish Highland Blended Malt Scotch Whisky 59.5%
Bottler: Wilson & Morgan
Region/Country: Highland, Scotland
Type: Highland Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
Age: 15 years
ABV: 59.5%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Finished in Marsala cask
Non-chill filtered: Yes
Natural colour: Yes
Distilled: 2004
Bottled: 2019
Number of bottles: 265
Edition: Barrel Selection
EAN no.: 8033749406057
Flavour profile
Dry · Nutty · Spicy · Winey · Fruity
Did you know?
Marsala owes its strength to an Englishman. When the wine merchant John Woodhouse landed in Sicily in 1773, he added local brandy so the wine would survive the voyage home.
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