Green Spot Chateau Montelena Single Pot Still

Are Redbreast and Green Spot the Beatles and Stones of the Irish whiskey world? One producing great records of gooey pop goodness after another while their rival produces raunchy balls-to-the-wall singles year-after-year, making it near impossible to decide with any finality which is better. When my wife and I first moved into our house well nigh ten years ago, my uncle gifted us a bottle of Redbreast 12 at our housewarming, and until that time, it was the best Irish whiskey I'd ever tasted (though granted my experience theretofore had been Jameson and Tully). Since then the Irish repertoire has expanded to include bottles of Writer's Tears and Knappogue, but tonight, I added Green Spot, and if we're keeping with the rock parallels, Green Spot is the Beatles to Redbreast's Stones. Seriously, where had this Irish whiskey been my whole life? The amusing admission: I still haven't had regular Green Spot, which might be why I'm calling this one the Beatles. The Chateau Montelena, having been finished in Zinfandel casks, piles on the fruity sweetness like a McCartney piano ballad, but whereas I hate Paul's piano ballads, I love this flavor, this nose. And like a Paul ballad, it was something of a Long and Winding Road that led me to this Green Spot's door. By which I mean, it was #16 on the Whisky Advocate Top 20 in 2018, which put it on my radar, and my good friend from Chicago (who I've mentioned before in my whisky tasting review as a big influence on what I'm drinking) picked up a bottle of the regular Green Spot this past St. Patrick's day when we had our FaceTime call and raved about it. So at that point, I knew It Won't Be Long until I picked up my own bottle, though it was sort of fortuitous that Montelena became available as an online only pick in our local stores and I noticed it and snapped it up. The nose is as lovely as wandering through Strawberry Fields, the aroma heavily influenced by the wine to make the berries prominent, if not the most prominent note, but there's also vanilla and a bit of spice. The palate is rich and creamy (the creaminess being my favorite part), though of course, being Irish, there's also apple/pear and cereal grains in the mix. In the finish, I even get something like vanilla milkshake, which might be what the bottle profile is calling marzipan, which I've never had but my wife tells me is a sweetened almond paste. It's a nice whiskey to sip and sit with with no rush to finish the glass but let the experience linger as long as possible. I cracked this bottle with my wife tonight on the back deck since my wife, when she drinks whiskey, drinks Irish whiskey, and we sat and had a glass together as dark came over the house, enjoying the glow of the hanging lights above us. Now I'm at my parents' house, drinking it with my dad and preparing to watch our football team get our rear ends handed to us (because they're playing last year's Super Bowl champs; though update: they did make a game of it and lost by a smaller margin than expected), but at least the whiskey is good. I've seen this going for $100 in some states, but I'd never give them that much of my money for this. I nabbed it for $64.99, and at that price, I'd strongly recommend picking it up. Here the stock ran out within 2 weeks (I pulled the trigger when there were only 12 bottles left online), so my advice is don't hesitate. If you're an Irish fan, you won't regret it.

After finishing up my reviews for the Knappogue Castle Wine Cask series, I feel like now is a good time to tackle this one. I'm a big fan of the basic Green Spot. The additional time spent in what I'm led to believe are high-quality Zinfandel wine casks should add some interesting dimensions. Nose: Big butterscotch and shortbread cookie, reminiscent of the orignal GS. Strawberry, raspberry, red apple, pear, and apricot. Banana and coconut and orange citrus. Cranberry, grape, raisin. Vanilla, toffee, honey, and cream. Toasted marshamllow. Fruity, sweet, but light aroma. Big oak as well. The briefest whiff of metallic grain. White chocolate as the description on the tube suggests. Barely noticeable and does nothing to detract. Good way to start. Palate: Another fruit bowl. Red apple, pear, apricot, grape and plum, strawberry, raspberry, cranberry, and raisin. Orange, banana, and coconut. Caramel, toffee, honey, butterscotch, and shortbread cookie. More toasted marshmallow. Some more jammy sweetness. Cereal and malt. Oaky once again. Very, very closely reflects the nose. Finish: Cranberry, raspberry, raisin red fruit notes carry over. Dry red fruit, signifying the powerful wine cask influence. The oak is present as well, not to mention a cinnamon tingle and some nutmeg and clove. The bump from 40% to 46% greatly bolsters what makes for a moderate-length finish. A fine Irish whiskey. Yet another example of why Irish whiskey is criminally devalued in the current whiskey culture, which heavily favors Scotch and bourbon. You'd be a fool to overlook the category when you can find bottles like this. This one can contend with any of the KC wine cask releases in terms of what's in the glass. Considering that this one costs an extra 50% and bears no age statement, it's an inferior value. Quality drop nonetheless. You can still find these, and I'd highly recommend it as a great representative of what the Emerald Isle is capable of producing.

Nose: Oily cereal (classic pot still), vanilla, white grape juice, gooseberries, red apples. Floral aromas appear as it sits and opens in the glass (jonquils, hyacinth, honeysuckle). There is an initial touch of acetone in the nose which grates just a bit but it dissipates quickly. Adding water tones down the nose (maybe a bad thing?) makes the barley aromas dusty and warm, which is very agreeable, and it also rids the nose of any spirity intrusions. Palate: Sweet cereal with considerable weight, barley sugar, fresh brioche, buttery malt, apples, sweet white wine. The development sees both vanilla and grapefruit coming forward, which is unusual, but it works. The texture is luxurious and very oily. Reducing the whisky just a little with a couple for drops of water mellows and "blends" the palate very well. Finish: Medium. Sweet and mildly spicy but fading to dry in the aftertaste with a zingy almost bitter citrus nip. Water adds length to the finish with some added warm spice. I’m not sure which batch I’m tasting as my sample did not give me that information, but I think it is most likely the 2021 release. Like the Château Léoville Barton Green Spot that I reviewed here a few years ago this is a wine-finished riff on Green Spot that is pleasant and very easy to enjoy, but it’s questionable as to whether the price increase over regular Green Spot makes it a value purchase. I doubt you would find this now but when it was available it cost about 50% more than regular Green Spot. Still, it’s a well-handled white wine finishing and certainly a delicious whisky, although I did get a sensation of its youth several times. Initially I was going to give it the same rating I gave the Château Léoville Barton expression but after adding a few drops of water it responded so well that I'm adding a point to the score. Tasted from a 30ml sample. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

N: Very fruity with cereal grains - comes across a bit like a grown-up version of Fruity Pebbles or Fruit Loops. That sounds bad, but it works. Oh, and that bowl of cereal is swimming in red wine, not milk. Super grown-up version... I'm not mocking it. It actually works and feels robust. The (let's say vaguely tropical) fruit mixes with the cereal notes and an obvious red wine note nicely. There are also hits of raisin (or other, less sweet dried fruit), toffee, and caramel - all adding balance and richness. P: It's basically the same as the nose, but maybe the order of appearance is different. I get raisin, toffee, red wine grapes, red wine, pot still spice, caramel, vanilla. Then it moves to an oaky bitterness which serves as a sort of middle or early finish. Faintest hint of chocolate in it too. Finish is pot still spice laying over top the lingering oak tannins and a little bit of vanilla. This is really tasty and I've really enjoyed this bottle. (I opened it on inauguration day figuring an Irish whiskey finished in California wine barrels was somehow fitting for the new administration.) But I don't think I'd pick this over the regular Green Spot again. The fresh green apple in that bottle is just super interesting and appealing to me, and that bottle costs $30-40 less. If they were priced the same, I might switch back and forth, but this is just not quite worth the significant upcharge. Value aside, this is a really nice Irish single pot still whiskey with a red wine twist that works and is interesting - the wine barrels are not just a gimmick. Certainly worth trying if you dig red wine and Irish whiskey.

Nose: Right of the bat you get a very soft aroma, it's not harsh for being a non chill filtered whiskey. It has the essence of vanilla as with most whiskey but there is also a subtle amount of cherries and pomegranate in the air. There is an amount of baked sugar there or burnt even but there is a good amount of toast here. That sweet nose of orchard fruits from the standard Green Spot also make their appearance as well. A touch of wood spice comes through in the middle and end. Taste: Dangerously smooth. The wine influence is strong here and the pot still spice is married harmoniously with red berries, toasted marshmallows, and a nuttiness close to almonds. That banana bread feel transforms into richer fruits and spices creating a rather complex whiskey. There is that creamy vanilla also with a faint sensation of mapple in the background with flecks of cinnamon present. Finish: Wonderfully lengthy. There was a slight sense of dry chocolate on the exit with the tingle of the spices dancing out. More orchard fruits show up too. It's the kind of finish you always want to come back to and visit again and again and again.

Nose is pungent and sweet with soft vanilla, orchard fruits (apple, pear), buttered toast, white grape, nutmeg, and mature sweet oak. Very inviting. Palate opens with a blast of fruits; I hate to use the word “orchard” again but it really fits. Apple, peach, plum, grape, tart raspberry, banana, and strawberry. Also we have vanilla, honey, butterscotch, powered sugar, marzipan, and the buttered toast from the nose. Quite a lot going on here. Finish is drying and surprisingly long for the proof. Warm cinnamon spice, nutmeg, soft oak, white pepper, clove, and a little pot still funk. Mouthfeel is silky and creamy and definitely elevates. A delightful whiskey once again proving that the “Spot” line of whiskies are among the best Irish whiskies in the world. At $104, it’s not cheap but probably reasonably appropriately priced for the quality. Not sure if I’d rebuy, but that’s more a personal budgetary concern than a critique of the product.