Glenmorangie Allta

Info: La dernière édition "Private" de Glenmoragnie qui renoue avec une pratique ancestral: l'utilisation d'orge sauvage dans la composition du whisky. C'est une sorte d'expérience puisqu'on parle souvent des futs comme un agent déterminant dans le processus d'élaboration du goût d'un whisky et l'orge en est un élément tout aussi déterminant malgré que l'on en parle rarement. Allta signifie "sauvage" en Gaelique. C'est une édition sans mention d'âge, sans colorant ajouté ni flitrage à froid. La maturation est entièrement en fut d'ex-bourbon. Une belle pointe à 51.2% d'alcool. Nez: Miel et banane mure. Oh que j'ai rarement vue une expression aussi marqué par la banane! Des notes florales fraiches telle une brise. Un verger. une pointe de vanille au nez. On le sent aiguë au nez. Typique de Glenmorangie cette pointe d'alcool. Bouche: Ce qui me frappe c'est la légèreté de ce whisky. Une telle grâce! Une élégance dans ces tonalités d'huile essentielle de gingembre et de beurre de noisette grillées. Vraiment particulier cet équilibre de gras et de légèreté. pour un whisky de ce budget. Gâteaux au banane et noix. Une touche d'agrume. De zeste de citron en fait. C'est l'amertume du zeste. Banane, beurre, noix, sirop de vanille, miel croustillant, fraicheur de champ et zeste de citron. Overall: Je ne suis pas du genre jojo quand il est question des éditions limitées de Glenmorangie. En fait, je sélectionne certaines éditions qui me plait et la plupart sombre dans l'oublie assez rapidement. Jusqu'ici, des éditions limitées, j'ai particulièrement apprécier le Bacalta, le Milsean et le premier Astar. Ces notes de banane et d'ex-bourbon sur le beurre de noisette me rappelle une version plus fruité du Astar. Il y a ici une sorte de parallèle que l'on peut faire avec la deuxième version du Astar, en partant par leur intensité aromatique qui se reflète bien par leur taux de 51.2%, mais aussi, il y a la force brute de bourbon et le fruité du bourbon qui reste en parallèle sans jamais ce toucher. Il faut confronter ces deux là pour comprendre. Bref, une belle édition de Glenmorangie qui plaira peut-être plus à un amateur avancé qu'à un débutant vue la hauteur et la pointe en alcool. Mais, qui ne saurait rassasier non plus un amateur de Cask Strenght. C'est un entre deux. sans être le clou de la soirée, le Allta est une belle intro de dégustation et surtout si on a que des Cask Strenght qui suivent. Sa fraicheur ouvre le palet à merveille. Belle profondeur aussi sur la banane, surtout au nez. Un "must-taste" pour les amateurs de ex-bourbon mais, un "must-have" seulement pour les grands fan de Glenmo. 86%

I managed to nab this one well after its release date of 2019 (bottled in 2018.) It’s the final installment of the Private Selection, before they pivoted to the “Tales” series. Based on packaging and presentation, I much prefer this line, though the only other expression I had was the Spios—which was decent. I’m hoping for a little more oomph from this one. The “Cadboll barley wild yeast” experiment seems interesting, but I’ll believe it makes a difference when I see it. Let’s find out. Nose: Butterscotch, vanilla, honey, malt, and toffee. Banana. Walnut. Caramel. Gala apple. Vanilla custard. Pecan. Coconut. Biscuit/sugar cookie. A nice toasty croissant note. Almond and walnut. Big-time oak. Palate: Butterscotch, vanilla, honey, malt, and toffee. Banana. Walnut. Green grape and golden raisin. Sugar cookie and croissant. Clove, nutmeg, and white pepper. Vanilla custard. Pecan and brown sugar. Pineapple and mango. Apricot and pear. Finish: Apple, pear, and apricot. Pineapple and mango. Golden raisin and green grape. Sugar cookie. Vanilla. Toffe and butterscotch. Clove, nutmeg, black and white pepper. Oak. Moderate length. Well now I’ve seen it and I believe it. This makes for a very robust profile. And it could be the power of suggestion, but this comes across as an incredibly yeasty/bready single malt. The fruit is dialed down compared to your typical Glenmorangie expression, and the confectionary sweets and baked goods are absolutely dominant here. At $96, this was well worth the squeeze. This compares price-wise the Cairdeas line, which this particular GM stacks up too. I am very surprised to find myself saying that, and I think it’s worth pointing out that this is then only one from this old— or the current Glenmorangie annual release line that can draw that comparison. This is bottled at 51.2% ABV. And it absolutely shines. Like I said earlier, the word here is robust. Thick mouthfeel, loaded profile. Interesting from start to finish. Excellent work worth, Glenmorangie. 4.75/5.

Glenmorangie has a certain quality level that they never drop. Having said that, this is not my favorite distillery, but i recognize it as one of the most important brands out there. This "Allta" expression is a very solid offering. Allta is one of Bill Lumsden's experiments, where he used a special type of yeast, which was developed by Glenmorangie's Lab. This special yeast name is Saccharomyces diaemath. Bottled at 51.2%abv, golden color. On the nose, it has a nice, nothing out of this world aroma. It starts with your typical Glenmorangie orange note. A little oaky, wheaty. Malted barley notes, Spanish "Turron" (nougat). After having a sip, the aroma released a waffer aroma with creamy vanilla custard, that resembles exactly to a very famous ecuadorian sweet waffer cookie called "GALLETAS AMOR" (translation: Love Cookies). On the palate everything leveled up amazingly. Creamy puff pastry, waffer, oranges, a very spicy pepper. Beautiful flavor. Aftertaste was near perfection. Nice creamy waffer (galletas amor); cereal in a good way; puff pastry with vanilla. Strong, powerful, very enjoyable finish. A little soapy and ginger. Overall, this dram really surprised me. For $110 it gives you an enjoyable experience. Very well rounded, i don't believe this one will have bad reviews. I give credit to Glenmorangie for trying new things and deliver good products. My score for it is a very well deserved 89 over 100.

There sure is alcohol on the nose. There's some lemon too along with some yeast and grass. It might be a refreshing nose, but it isn't a very enjoyable one. The palate is really interesting with a big clover honey flavor that is thinned and mixed with a lot of vanilla. It's super floral and so quite tart with a yeasty breast quality similar to brioche. Brioche with candied lemon peel and a bunch of vanilla is definitely the vibe I get. It's interesting, but that's mostly just because it's different. It's a solid enough sipper and I think it's better than. The regular Glenmorangie The Original, but not by a ton. The candied lemon brings in a bit of artificial flavor. It also lacks the complexity and smoothness of Tullibardine 13 Brandy. Yeah, it sure tastes young and kind of too sweet like candy. Like candy mixed with alcohol. It's moderately smooth, but not as smooth as Tullibardine 13 Brandy by a long shot. Something just tastes a bit off - young. It works, but I'm not a fan. The mouthfeel is moderate. It's a 23 to 14. I think 14 is probabaly right and the original is probably a 13. Yeah. I wouldn't say that I'm enjoying drinking this.

For those who may not be aware, Glenmorangie is owned by Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, which also owns Ardbeg distillery. Over the past decade, both Glenmorangie and Ardbeg have been releasing "special" or limited edition expressions. The 10th Private Edition release from Glenmorangie is titled "Allta," which roughly translates to "wild" from Scots Gaelic. The big focus is the yeast used. According to the press releases, the master distiller Dr. Lumsden isolated a proprietary strain of yeast found on barley in the fields right outside the distillery, hence the name Allta. This resulted in quite different whisky from the core 10 Year expression. Nose is slightly sweet and citrusy with notes of freshly baked bread. On the palate you get more citrus, vanilla, and almost raw pizza dough flavors followed by biscuit and pepper finish. For those who prefer bourbon to Scotch, this is an interesting expression as many of the flavor profiles reminded me of some bourbons such, as Four Roses Small Batch. At $100, it's interesting but quite pricey entry point for something different from one of the most approachable Single Malt Scotch distillers.

This is a fantastic scotch. I have difficulty finding enough ways to express its goodness. On the nose, just a bare hint of char with slight vanilla and citrus. On the palate, the only thing to say is unbelievable balance. The sweetness is balanced with tartness, Char is balanced with richness, spice is balanced with smoothness. And there is just enough vanilla to go with the fruit aftertaste in the finish. The finish lingers long and fades away with definite peach cobbler and apricot. Since I am not a sweet drink fan, pulling off this peach cobbler trick without it tasting too sweet is miraculous. If you constructed the perfect peach cobbler, with 80% peaches and 20% apricot, with no sugar added, and made a sophisticated adult drink with it...that would be Allta. The sad part about this bottle is its limited release in this particular expression. It would be easy to crawl into this bottle at a cookout in late July during the dessert course, and not come out! Thanks to JWSparta in the Greensboro Buyers Club for sharing. $100 in NC, but for a limited time only $70 at Blackwell's!