Extremely vain and very settled on the sour side of the spectrum. Nutty-fermented sherry notes. Rather sultanas as raisins. Juicy, sparkling, astringent. Despite the massive role played by the finish here, I got the impression that the Glenallachie character (as Billy Walker is trying to shape it) still has something on it, because among all the forest fruit juiciness there is always a kräutrige, Almost vegetable note (rosemary and artichokes?), which I found in the 12er the most interesting aspect. In addition, I would strongly suspect that even this bottling virgin oak has seen: from about the middle of the flavor development is a pretty violent spiciness, which suggests that some very fresh (or even virgin) barrels with Vatting flowed.

Positively seen: a strong sherrylastiger Malt, which nevertheless does not come to set or even superimposed comes along and offers an interesting balance of acid, spice and spirit.
On the negative side: a malt that seems to be more "assembled" than harmoniously matured, and in whose price range and drum composition I would always prefer the current Glendronach 15.

Walker said: “I’ve been working on our 15 year old release since we acquired GlenAllachie back in October 2017. In that time I’ve been intimately following the development of the various casks and I believe the 15 year old is the perfect balance of distillery and cask influence.”

https://theglenallachie.com/release-of-the-glenallachie-15-year-old/

He added: “For this 15 year old, I chose PX and Oloroso puncheons and hogsheads to deliver complete depth and finish. This whisky is rich in sweet spices, raisins and butterscotch, with waves of banana, orange peel and dark chocolate. The extra years the whisky spent maturing in the sherry wood casks extends the flavour

Interview with Juliette Buchan
https://youtu.be/3-3Nuca36PM

Winy walnut cookies with chocolate, red pepper, vanilla, dark raisins and tobacco leaves.

RATING: 86pts - [n21,t22,f21,b22] → |86-89: Remarkable|