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Tasting Reviews - The XVII

Bruichladdich XVII 17 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky/Islay 46% Ab Vi $120

Importer: Winebow, Inc., New York, NY

Pronounced "BROOK laddie"; 100% bourbon barrels; the pale straw hue gleams under the lamp - impeccable purity; the opening sniffings in the first two minutes offer up concentrated grainy aromas, delicately touched by honey backnotes - seven more minutes in the glass allow the aromate evolve into a full-fledged bouquet, notable for its biscuity, wafer-like and malty surface scents that lay atop fruity foundational aromas such as poached pear and baked apple in pas- try - a rare Islay bouquet that's free of even the slightest trace of peat reek; the palate entry is firm, sugar cookie sweet and displays a welcome hint of oiliness - the midpalate is cereal/ malty sweet and oily but hardly unctuous as the acidity level is clearly high enough to retain a lovely tartness/ crispness; finishes long, if a bit narrowly focused on the resiny acidity; a fully representative and true-to-the- style Laddie but one that I didn't take to as much as the new 15 and 20 year olds, not to mention the sleek, sexy Valinch 1986, all ****.

Spirit Journal Rating: ***/Recommended

Colour       

Light Gold

Nose

A soft, attractive, appetising nose of sweet oak, vanilla, baklava, wax jackets and a hint of sea thrift.  Mouth-watering.

Palate

A lovely sweet start.  Utterly fresh but with a real soft concentration of fruit in the mid-palate.  Tingling yet rounded.

Conclusion

Middleweight and delightful with a bracing freshness to it.

3½/5 star rating - David Broom - Wine Magazine January 2003 Edition