Two whiskies from Edradour

Edradour is a small distillery in the Highlands in Scotland. It is privately owned distillery, it was bought 2002 by Andrew Symington of Signatory company. Edradour has one of the most smallest stills allowed in Scotland so therefore the distillery character is a bit heavy and oily.

The whisky Caledonia is a 12yo whisky from Edradour. The first Caledonia whisky was chosen by Dougie Maclean and in this video below one can see the process when Dougie Maclean choose the first cask.

The nose is intense and one can feel fruits and sherry, quite a complex smell. The taste is strong and quite oily, it feels stronger than the 46% ABV. It has different flavours such as sherry, fruits and some vanilla and spices. A long aftertaste. A really good whisky. And now listen to the song Caledonia by Dougie Maclean.

The second whisky from Edradour is their brand Ballechin and their 10yo. Ballechin is the heavily peated Edradour brand. The malt used for the whisky is smoked to at least 50ppm. For the Ballechin the whiksy used has been aged in former Bourbon barrels and sherry casks. The smell is smoky with some dark chocolates and some oil. The taste is complex with smoke, some oak, oily and some light fruits and spices rounding it off. It has a long aftertaste with a lingering light smoke in the mouth. This is a very good 10yo whisky.

Campania to Tuscany

The first wine is a white wine from Campania. It is made of 100% Greco grapes. It is called Greco di Tufo since it is made in the DOGC area Greco di Tufo around the town of Tufo. It is called Iovine and the vintage is 2016. The ABV is 13%. The taste is of pears and minerals. The aftertaste is long and fresh. This wine I like a lot.

Next wine is a red wine from Tuscany. Rendola is made from 100% Sangiovese, ABV is 13,5% and the vintage is 2015. The taste is of plums and cherries with a well integrated softer tannins. Very good wine and is not as heavy as I thought it would be.  A perfect food wine.

Super piemontese against normal Italian wines

The wine Corniolo from producer Livio Pavese is what some people calls a Superpiemonte. It is of the vintage 2010 and the grapes used are Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. They planted the grapes after being inspired by the Super tuscans of Tuscany such as Sassicaia. On the label is is written that it is a modern wine, full bodied, round and gentle.
So what is my impressions of this wine? The smell is of dark fruits. The taste is of cherries, viols and some tannins. For me tannins are a bit on the harsh side, and the aftertaste is very dry and here one can feel the tannins. For this wine the tannins are not integrated into the wine. For me there are much better wines in this priceclass to buy. I rather go with a pure Barbera wine. I would not say that this wine is gentle. It would need maybe seven years more of ageing and then I don't know if the tannins would be better or not.

Orlandi Contucci Ponno is a producer in Abruzzo in Italy that makes the wine Rubiolo. This wine is produced using only Montepulciano grapes grown from vineyards with a good southern exposure. The vintage is 2014 and the ABV is 13,5%. The taste is of black currants, some coffee and are a bit spicy. A nice red wine from Abruzzo.

The last wine comes from Maremma in Tuscany. It is the wine Le Facaie from producer Rocca Di Montemassi. The vintage is 2015 and ABV is 13,5%. It is made by 100% Sangiovese grapes. The are where this wine is produced is very beautiful. There are great aromas in the nose. The taste is dark berries and coffee and the taste is quite strong. A nice aftertaste in the mouth. A good wine that showcases the Sangiovese grapes

Abbazia Novacella

Abbazia Novacella is a wine producing Augustinian Canons Regular monastery in Alto Adige in the north in Italy. The vineyards are situated at high elevation (500-800m) and this gives their white wines a freshness and acidity that is hard to beat.

I visited the monastery in 2013 and bought several wines at their wine shop. The landscape around the monastery is very beautiful and the monastery is also very beautiful. So if you go there take time to visit both the monastery and the winery.

The three wines that I bought are all white wines from 2012, so they have been stored for four years before opening them. The first wine is the Sylvaner wine made from Sylvaner grapes. The taste is of melons, citrus and some aromatic spices. Just a bit sour aftertaste, it goes very well with asian food. A really good wine.

Next wine is the Müller Thurgau made with the grapes of the same name. This wine has fresh fruity aromas in the nose. The taste is of citrus and white peaches and some sharpness in the aftertaste. A rich full wine, a very good wine.

The final wine is a Gewürztraminer. The nose is very good and the taste it is very aromatic and fruity with pears. Still crisp and fresh after four years of storage. Long aftertaste and it has aged very well. A wonderful wine.
Three very good wines from an excellent winery.

Balblair vintage 2005 and Tomatin 12 years

Let us leave Italy and wine and go to Scotland for whisky. I will look into two releases from two less known distilleries Balblair and Tomatin.

First up is Balblair and the Balblair 2005, Balblair is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland and was founded in 1790. Balblair is owned by Inver House and is located in the northern Highlands north of Inverness. Bablair differs from other distilleries in that they only bottle vintages. So the vintage that I have tried is their 2005 and it was bottled in 2015, so it is approximately 10 years old. It is natural colour and is non chill-filtered. I have to say that the box is very beautiful and that the bottle shape is a delight to see as it show the contents very well and one can see the natural colour of the whisky very well.
The colour of this whisky is a bit lighter and one can see that bourbon barrels have been used for maturing the whisky.
The nose of the Balblair 2005 is some oak and vanilla with green apples and almost some toffee.
The taste is a delight. One gets a citrus with toffee and some spices. A medium finish that lingers.
I like this whisky very much and I have to try other vintages. Because one can find old vintages and not become ruined as both the 1999 and the 1990 are reasonably priced.

Next up is the Tomatin 12 years. Tomatin is owned by japanese owners Takara Shuzo and Tomatin is situated south east of Inverness. Tomatin is also the one of the highest situated distillery in Scotland. they are also very open with their whiskies and have a wide range available. They call themselves the softer side of the highlands.
The 12 year old whisky is matured in ex bourbon barrels and sherry casks. The nose has a fruity aroma. The taste has a definitive taste of apples which seem to be the distillery character followed by oranges and oak. This is a smooth whisky and has a very good price, definately softer side of the Highlands.

If you have the chance, visit the Highlands in Scotland, it is such a beautiful place and if you have the time, visit a distillery.