Compass Box, Enlightement whisky

The whisky Enlightenment from Compass Box is an interesting whisky. Compass Box makes something called blended malt whiskies. Which are single malt whiskies from different distilleries that they blend together into a blended malt whisky. Not to be confused with blended whiskies which contains grain whiskies also.

Enlightenment was made to showcase the problems with the Scottish whisky laws as Compass Box wants to write all the information they have of the whisky on the bottle, however laws states that only the youngest whisky age can be written on the bottle. So if this whisky contains 1% four year old whisky and 99% 30 year old whisky, the only thing that can be written on the label of the bottle is 4 years old.

Enlightenment contains the following whiskies:4 8.2%  Clynelish (first fill American oak barrel), 36.7%  Glentauchers (first fill American oak barrel), 10.8%  Balblair (first fill American oak barrel) and 4.3%  Mortlach (rejuvenated American oak barrel). Since I both like Balblair and Clynelish this was one of the reasons that I bought this Whisky.

The colour is quite light despite being first fill American oak barrels involved. The nose is very light, a bit flowery. The taste is quite aggressive and there is something covering the mouth, maybe some young whisky. A metallic taste in the mouth in the after taste. A bit citrus in the taste but I don't like this whisky at all. It is like a mix gone wrong. It seems like Compass Box has taken the worst of the distilleries and put them together instead of what I liked about the different distilleries. Definitely not worth the price that I paid even if this is one limited edition of 5922 bottles.

The smell is the best thing about this whisky while the taste is the worst thing. Interesting but there are better and cheaper whiskies to drink instead of this one.

Baron Aime and Bolla

Not everything that sparkles comes from Champagne. Sparkling wine is also produced for example in Cremant de Bourgogne. Here they do sparkling wine according to the traditional method, there the second fermentation is done in the bottle. Baron Aime is a sparkling wine from this area. It consists of the the following grapes, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Aligote. The ABV is 12%. The taste is of apples, citrus and bread. It is like a mixture between a Champagne and Prosecco. A very good sparkling wine.

Bolla is a big producer in Italy and they procude the wine Tufaie Soave Superiore, which is a white wine from Soave of vintage 2014. It has and ABV of 13 % and consists of the grapes Trabbiano and Garganega. The taste is of pears, citrus and is fresh and good. A perfect wine for seafood.

Castello Banfi vs Lungarotti

Castello Banfi is the biggest producer of Brunello di Montalcino wines in Tuscany while Lungarotti is a big producer in Umbria. So here I will try a Brunello versus a cheap normal Umbrian wine from Lungarotti.

I read that Castello Banfi produces 10% of all Brunello di Montalcino in Tuscany. The Brunello that I have is from 2008. So nine years of age at this date in 2017. The colour is a bit darker than previous Brunellos that I have had before. The taste is powerful but I am lacking an elegance. Dark cherries and red currants but a lot of tannins and oak. Not yet structured and feels like it would need six to seven more years of ageing. But will it bring elegance? Don't know. Feels like a wine that has been made to please Parker.

The Cadetto from Lungarotti is from 2014 and it only says that it contains traditional Umbrian grapes. Which probably means anything that grows in Umbria and a big possibility that a big part is Sangiovese. This is a much lighter red wine than the Brunello. Easy drinking and a taste of red berries and liquorice. Enjoyable and nice.

In this contest Lungarotti wins a clear victory. The Castello Banfis Brunello is to much tannins and oak for me. I have had much better Brunellos than Castellos Banfis.

White wine from Valle D'Aosta and Sardinia

I tasted the red wine Fumin from the producer Les Cretes in Valle D'Aosta a month ago and now is the time for their white wine Petite Arvine from 2014. It has an ABV of 13,5%. This grape Petite Arvine is a native grape of Switzerland and was introduced in the Italian region of Valle D'Aosta in the seventies. When I tasted this bottle it reminded me of a Chardonnay. Fresh and fruity with some citrus and minerals. Very good and Petite Arvine is an under-appreciated grape.

Vermentino is a grape that I like a lot. I have tasted everything from excellent wines to just decent wines. The wine Piras from Cantina Gallura is one of the excellent wines. The taste is very aromatic with citrus and some pear notes. The flavour of this wine is very deep. Buy it if you can find a bottle. The vintage is 2015 and the ABV is 13%.

From Jesi to Alsace

Verdicchio is an Italian grape variety which is grown primarily in the Marche region of Italy. One of the two DOP is the Verdicchio dei Castelli Jesi. In this region the producer Pievalta produces their Verdicchio wine. The farms are situated on either side of the Esino river valley and the production if organic and for those who are vegans this wine is completely vegan.
The Pievalta Verdicchio dei Castelli Jesi is made of 100% Verdicchio grapes and the ABV is 13%. The colour is light hay. The taste is citrus and has a good freshness. A very good wine.

Going to Alsace where many good white wines is produced. Producer Michel Fonne is a new experience to me. The wine Pinot Gris Roemerberg is from 2007. Quite an old age for a white wine. Michel Fonne is situated in  Bennwihr. Michel Fonne uses the sweetness scale on this wine and it shows a 4. So the wine is semi sweet. A 1 means a completely dry wine. This wine is fruity almost some apricot and surprisingly fresh for the age. If I drank this wine blind I would say that the age of the wine would be a 2013 vintage. An excellent wine and I will try more this producer in the future.

Ciampolete Rosso Di Montalcino

From Montalcino in Tuscany comes some of the worlds best wine. Rosso di Montalcino is the cheaper compared to the Brunello di Montalcino. Some years the producers don't feel that the Brunello is good enough to name it Brunello and then they can declassify it and sell it as Rosso di Montalcno. Usually a Rosso di Montalcino is a bit lighter than the Brunellos but can be equally good depending on what one like.

Ciampoleto 2013 is a Rosso di Montalcino from producer San Giorgio. As the rules states it is made from 100% Sangiovese. The ABV is 13,5%. The colour is ruby. The nose is of spices. The taste is very good. I can feel spices, black currants and cacao. Elegant and with complexity. An excellent wine.

Montalcino is an excellent place to visit. From the town one has a good view of the outlying Tuscan countryside. Very beautiful. From the castello one can see the town very well and the castle is also very nice with a winebar/store inside.