Bruichladdich 16 Cuvee F, Pomerol, 46% abv.

In 2008, Laddie released their "The Bordeaux First Growth Series" which is based on a common theme of having laddie 16 year old bourbon barrel juice finish in barrels that previously held wine from the Great Châteaus for about 12 to 20 months depending on who you ask. The Great Châteaus are also known as First Growth, which is the highest rank of French wines in a system initiated by Emperor Napoléon. However, it is not clear how long the barrels held the wine. Moreover, some people say its unpeated distillate while a few others say its peated to 3 ppm, which is virtually unpeated. Interestingly, Cuvee F has laddie juice finished in Château Lafleur barrels, which is not "officially" considered one of the Great Châteaus/First Growth, but is widely considered to be excellent!

Nose: vanilla, some fruit, raisins, dates, mesquite bbq, limes, interestingly my friend said it was more sweeter, less sour, and less thicker than Bruichladdich Cuvee a D, which had a Haut-Brion finish.

Palate: initial palate is spicey, mid palate is wood, viney, wood. More fruit vines compared to previous Bruichladdich First Growth, back palate has some smoke, toast, more old steamed lotus leaves than other First Growth, light wood.

Finish: short, a little dry, mostly vines and wood.

This one is mostly vines, not as strong as other whiskies, but has a typical profile akin to what I would consider a wine finished whisky. Funny thing is, after trying all the Bruichladdich  16 First Growth, I couldn't really say or uniquely distinguish the influences of the different wine houses. To be honest, many wine barrel finished or matured whiskies don't seem special imho.

Grade: C

Whiskyfun.com, Serge, sgp:471, 81 points

Image courtesy of Eric Yee.

Eric Yee

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