Port Ellen Untold Stories 39 Years Old 50.9% 1978

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Serge Valentin (92)

This ex-bourbon and refill sherry. What to say? Well it’s said to be the oldest Port Ellen ever but there’s also a new private 40 for some kind of Chinese dude. Great guy, I’ve heard, also that everyone’s buying him rounds in the bars these days ;-). Colour: gold. Nose: the wonders of some great casks blended together. Fantastic smoked honeys, many oils including rapeseed and grape pips, beach wood, sandalwood, dried seaweed, many elegant teas, bergamot, earl grey, hessian, perhaps a little hashish, then unfolding citrus, exotic hardwood resin, jasmine, green banana… Really intricate nose, superbly complex, you could even find, somewhere in there, a little kumquat from the Flatlands. With water: green olives, anchovies, a little squid ink, salted pistachios, and a delicate mildly smoky nuttiness. Smoked almonds and beeswax. Mouth (neat): looks like some casks had gotten too woody, but that other casks managed to offset that effect. Angus finds his beloved preserved lemons, something mechanical which may allude to that PE dirtiness which seems to disappear after 30 years, then a perfect salt/mint/lemon combination. Some English mustard powder, adds Angus. With water: the palate opens really beautifully with water, it becomes wider and even more powerful. Bitter oils, mead, heather, dried litchis and longans, a little bit of tarragon as well… Finish: long, on lemon peel, gentle medical notes, embrocations, smoked olive oil (provided such thing exists, Angus), salted cookies, smoked salmon, tiger balm… It really is endless, Port Ellen’s always got some of the longest finishes. Comments: these batches of casks that made up many Special Releases just seem to be evergreen.
SGP:455 – 92 points (Angus 92).