Longrow Red 13 Year Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon Matured

Rating: 19/23 I've heard great things about this and others in the Longrow Red line, but the price has always seemed too high to me - especially for such young spirit - and I'm skeptical of wine barrel aging (having been burned a few times by it). This should at least be interesting. N: Rich, smoke, heathery peat, toasted grain, dry grass, a whiff of dry red fruit, cinnamon, a mellow layer of wood. This is a really nicely balanced nose. I love the complexity and that the red wine is somehow not overwhelming. There's also some roasted meat (port shoulter?) that comes out eventually, a hint of black licorice, and a suggestion of vanilla coming out of the licorice. Faint black pepper and maybe just maybe a hint of cumin and chipotle. An occasional hint of sulphur The nose could be fuller, but it's really very nice. This doesn't have the bourbon character of Springbank 18 and Longrow 18. This is possibly richer and fuller and it's definitely less sweet. P: This is much more complex than the regular Longrow. The dry fruitiness is thoroughly in check and adds an interesting extra dimension to the balance. This doesn't taste exceptionally old, but it's a great demonstration of the terroir, distillation process, oak, and wine all coming together. Flavor-wise, I get cinnamon, toasted grain, vanilla, pops of dry red fruit that aren't too obtrusive, occasional black licorice candy, a little waxy tartness, some funky earthy herbal flavor, a toasted layer. The peat is there, busy grappling with a slightly syrupy red fruit sweetness. The peat is dry, bitter, somewhat numbing. A little black pepper. I'm having trouble getting past how powerful the syrupy wine flatness becomes though. F: Toasty, sweet, licorice, moderated red fruit. As it progresses, more farmyard character comes out, adding dynamic depth. Cinnamon comes in for a bit too before being replaced by a more traditional barrel flavor. A hint of sulphur never quite disappears. Long into the finish, that dry red fruit character comes back a bit, showcasing the grape skins and earth before the meatiness and spice come back to swallow it all again. - Conclusion - This is a great whisky. The cabernet sauvignon finish really worked here. At a couple of moments, it stood out a bit more than I'd have liked, but mostly it stayed right where it needed to. Likewise, the youth shows through. Whereas I found Longrow 18 to toe the line of being a bit out of balance, this is just on the wrong side with its sulphur and red wine. Lismore 21 (19) is more coherent, more mature, and less sulphuric. The higher ABV here is a nice win though and overall I find the two to be similar in quality. At one moment, this reminded me of Laphroaig 10, so I pulled that out to compare. While the profiles don't align, the highly turbulent natures are similar. I'd probably take this over the Laphroaig, but this isn't blowing the Laphroaig out of the water like I thought it would. Based on all of this, I think this is in the 17 to 20 range. The flavors hare are all really nice, but the syrupy fruit, peat, and farmy flavors seem at odds. a lot of the time. I'm inclined to give this the 19, tying it with the Lismore. The higher proof here almost pulls this up to a 20 though. Thank you @ctbeck11 for the sample of this! I'd never gotten to try the Longrow Red line before and now the premise of it makes so much sense. And of course now I want to try as many different red wine finishes of Longrow as I can.

After trying the Longrow Peated, I had to taste the sample that @ctbeck11 provided of the Longrow Red 13 year to compare while it was still fresh in my mind to see what the wine casks have added to the spirit. I’ve had a few different peated whiskies that have been aged in wine casks and all of them have been outstanding, but all were from Islay, so time to dive into Campbeltown’s take on it. The nose starts with a strawberry shortbread cake with bourbon caramel drizzled over it then comes sun baked citrus(orange and lemon), ocean sea spray followed by a faded old catcher mitt, dark chocolate covered raisins then ginger and oak spice with a light ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with a multiple fruit jam (leaning towards raspberry, blueberry, cherry, strawberry, and black current mixture) then bourbon caramel, sun baked citrus, ocean sea spray with light peat followed with mild heat and spice from ginger and black pepper that finishes long with those jam fruits mixed with chocolate covered raisins, campfire ashes and faded old catcher mitt that lingers for minutes. This is another incredible whisky from Springbank and manages to bring in those big berry flavors of the wine without overpowering those core Springbank flavors I’ve gotten used to and create a balance of the wine, sherry, and bourbon that harmonize well together. I liked this one so much that I decided to see if it could dethrone the Hazelburn 13 as my favorite Springbank product, but the Hazelburn was still my favorite. This is still a great whisky and one any Springbank fan should try if they get the chance as those dark berries mixed with all that Springbank funk, peat and minerality are just something wonderful to taste.

Nose - Really rich fruity nose, one of the sweetest longrow reds yet. There's a very nice finish on the end letting you know these are wine casks and not some sherry cask. Light peat, touch of smoke, currants, aged wine oak, vanilla, and a nice somewhat hot spice finish. Taste - Opens with vanilla and sweet wine notes, then you have a slow drive as peat and smoke slowly build up as the oak (with wine notes) drive up. Rich with a distinct 4 different transitions. There aren't a lot of distinct notes here like strawberries or jam per say but a lot of just wonderful well balanced and yet perfectly out of balance to be a longrow red where big bold flavors are expected. I'm a huge fan of this series and the more I go back to this one the more I like it. 3.75 out of 5. Great stuff and well worth the 150 these are going for. Edit - a few more pours in and I got a try an heel to add that to my knowledge (my bottles still pretty full). Yeah I"m bringing this way down. There's a nice finish deep into this one, but it's just not that great. To confirm I poured a drop of the 11 cabernet franc red, and it's just night and day better up front, the 13 year cab does have a nice spicy finish that does make me think I'm being harsh but the up front is boring. Dropping this to a 3.25. Edit 2 I'm back to 3.5 and thinking 3.75. Really good stuff. My bottle is about at the 70% mark and it's really coming into it's own. The heel I had clearly got there way too fast!

Nose - oily peat, raspberry jam, strawberry, flint, toffee, vanilla, lemon pith, vegetal notes, spicy oak, white pepper, boozy chocolate, clove, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - strawberry, orange, brine, prepared caramel, flint, oily peat, vanilla, chocolate, raspberry jam, allspice, ginger, granola, lemon, red wine, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium long with fruit jam, citrus pith, and oily sulphur flavors. This Red release spent ten years in a combination of sherry and bourbon barrels before finishing for an additional three in Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon casks. This is very different from the 10 Year Refill Malbec release I reviewed previously. The nose is dark, jammy, and brooding. It’s more aromatic, sulphuric, and winey as well. The palate is very oily and chewy. The flavors are deep and rich, with the dirty, funky Longrow DNA shining through nicely. This is excellent and at least one step above the 10 Year Refill Malbec release. When I opened the bottle over a year ago, I wasn’t particularly impressed. But as is the case with most Springbanks I’ve purchased, a hefty dose of oxygen helps to loosen things up. This was very close to getting an even higher score from me, but it’s a bit youthful and bitter on the finish. Still it’s great, and I’m happy I bought a bottle.

I have had only one Longrow before. The standard Longrow peated NAS and that was more then a year ago. I only found it okay but but since then I tasted a variety of Campeltown whiskies and learned to appreciate and like them. The nose already is very promising. A organic leathery peat hand in hand with vanilla & caramel and thick sweet grape juice, mushy black and red currants. Very present and rich. Strong and prominent punches on the palate right away. Super dry with the typical Campeltown peat. Dry leather, brown apples, fermented grapes. The finish let’s you grasp the red wine from the maturation casks. Also oak, lemon and burned sugar with brown butter remain. I like this whiskies characteristic honesty and its signature Campeltown DNA. It is playful yet displays its proud origin nicely. I like it but for my taste it is a bid too dry and the alcohol is really dominant. Water brings out a maritime saltiness on the nose, makes it a lot smoother and sweeter on the palate / finish but the dryness and alcoholic burn remain.

Nose: Closed off at first, a good 5 minutes later distinct Strawberry Starbusrt candy, which gives way to cherries, sweet peat, lemon and baking spices. Palate: Rich, refined and oily, baking spices, red fruits, a little black pepper, sweet peat and dark chocolate. Finish: Medium length with moderate spice, black pepper, peat and chocolate. Based on the samples I have to say, that although rated the same, I would choose the 10 year Red Refill Malbec over this. I liked the dirty funkiness of that better than the refined taste of this. Thanks to @ctbeck11 for the sample.