Dino Mancarella has set foot in the bottling scene and is here to stay. His previous bottlings could really convince me. So I am glad to have been provided with samples of his latest two ‚babies‘. Let’s taste:
Invergordon 45 y.o. Single Grain Scotch Whisky 1972 – 2018, Bourbon barrel, 49,5%
Comment: Classic flawless grain nose, on the crossroads between rum and Bourbon, very mature: vanilla sweetness, maple syrup, marzipan, well-oaky but fits in, marshmallows, Big Red chewing gum, almonds and coconut, fudge, cardamom and nutmeg, pineapple, peach, apple juice, fruit-infused tea and fruity pipe tobacco mix, catnip. On the palate, it is quite oaky and spicy at first, then it gives room to the complexity of the nose, loooong vanilla carpet all the way into the finish.
Score: 90
Ardmore 20 y.o. Mancarella 1998, Bourbon Hogshead, 51,9%
Comment: On the farmyardy side altogether with greener fermentation notes and cheese, aroma-laden coal smoke, peat, leather, yellow apple, olives, shoe shine, flowery elements too. Nice mature palate with a sweet malty backbone, peatier than the nose with my beloved flintiness. Complex and deep.
Score: 89