When writing my recent contribution to “WRO Wines and Wine Producers of the Year, 2006,” I had to wrestle with the question of whether “Wine of the Year” could possibly be stretched to mean “Drink of the Year” so that it could accommodate the beverage that provided the most amazing sip of the year: Glemmorangie Margaux Cask Finish Vintage 1987.
I concluded, regretfully, that this was too implausible a stretch, given that the word “wine” appears twice in the piece’s title. Nevertheless, the fact remains that this stunning Single Highland Malt Scotch was the most complex and intriguing drink of a very, very good year. If you have a holiday gift largesse on your hands and are looking for something amazing on which to spend it, this is your baby.
The bad news is that it will run you somewhere between $400 and $500. The good news is that, unlike one-shot-deal bottles of wine, you’ll get about 20 nights of extraordinary experiences out of the bottle if you keep it to yourself. Alternatively, you’ll seriously endear yourself to 10 other people if you elect to share the wealth.
What will those 20 tastes taste like? The experience begins with remarkably complex aromatic notes that include a faint floral note alongside notes of spicy, confected fruit, freshly baked bread, and tobacco leaves. The flavors are open and fruity, with stone fruit notes of peaches and apricots taking the lead, but also showing red fruit notes recalling plums and berries. These are intermingled with backnotes of spices and cocoa. And I am not making this up. If you spend 15 minutes with a glass of this stuff, you’ll be able to double my list of descriptors. I’m actually holding back for fear of being thought mad.
The brains behind this amazing beverage belong to Dr. Bill Lumsden, Master Distiller for Glenmorangie. Lumsden holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, but is as much a wizard as a scientist. One of the most interesting tools in his bag of tricks is the use of casks that previously held different wines to ‘finish’ his scotches. Glenmorangie wood finishes include Port, Sherry, Madeira and Burgundy, along with small lots of special ‘guest’ finishes including 30 Years Old Olorosso Finish, 15 Years Old Sauternes Finish, and now, this Margaux Cask Finish.
This whiskey spent its last two years of ageing in casks from a certain very famous Chateau in the commune of Margaux. Since this is not a joint venture, and since the barrels were sourced 
from a third party, the “Margaux” on the label refers to the commune rather than any particular property. Yet Lumsden is famous within the spirit world for sourcing his wood with meticulous care, often traveling to the United States to select personally the white oak bourbon barrels he uses for Glenmorangie’s initial ageing process. One suspects that it is not a matter of indifference to him which Margaux Chateau’s barrels he uses, and you can take your own best guess as to which Chateau’s barrels are in question here.
My guess is that this is an unprecedented instance of this Chateau’s barrels being put to an even better use on their second time around.
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