Port Charlotte 2012 Islay Barley
Review by Port Charlotte
- Nose
Initially a fresh linen and sandy sea breeze note stands out. Zesty lemon, a green fruit signature, apple sauce and crunchy pears follow. Floral geranium notes come through with sea pinks and gooseberry. then creamy coconut dipped
in chocolate opens up quickly with muddy peat smoke, burnt heather and peach skin. hints of vanilla and toasted malt. The aromas speak of the spirit, the distillation and the barley.
- Palate
On the lips its soft and sweet, texturally there is a thin honey style that slips across the palate. Immediately there is more from the cask here, vanilla, milk chocolate and light cedar and black pepper. Warmed scones and honey from the malt wrapped in earthy smoke and soft apricot. creamy, minty, tablet brings a sweetness and a warm salty sand hint of Islay.
- Finish
The finish is coconut and peat smoke, mildly iodine-y and hints of almond and geranium. The peat smoke gently fades away.
- Conclusion
Wonderfully balanced to show the fruity style of the spirit on the nose and the delicate influence of the cask on the palate. The peat smoke weaves its way gently through the whisky highlighting the softer sweeter notes. This 2012 vintage has a freshness and balance that tells the story of the place to which it belongs.
- Note
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This high provenance, heavily-peated single malt was distilled from Islay-grown barley in 2012. A total of eight Islay farms came together to harvest the 2011 crop for Port Charlotte over a tempestuous summer. Each farmer had worked with us before, in Hunter Jackson, Ian Torrance, Ian MacKerrel, Raymond Fletcher, Mark French, Alistair Torrance, Raymond Stewart with father and son team Donald and Andrew Jones. Our communitys commitment to Islay is embodied here, where local barley is raised, distilled, matured and bottled only on Islay.
This Port Charlotte 2012 is part of our Islay barley story, which began with a single farmer in 2004. Our barley initiative has now developed into a rhythm, with an average of 18 different farms growing for us annually. With each harvest, our farming community gains yet more knowledge of what it takes to grow in these challenging conditions.
Each edition of Islay barley released from our warehouses, is a testament to our care and attention paid to the provenance of our products. We will never scour the globe for the cheapest grain, with the highest yield. To us, barley is the essence of single malt whisky, a living expression of the locality and the personalities that nurtured it.
In 2004, backing our drive for the ultimate Islay Islay single malt, farmer Raymond Stewart grew barley for us at Kentraw, just a mile from the distillery. His harvest was then malted and distilled separately we believe the first time ever an Islay single malt had been made exclusively from 100% Islay grown grain.
