GLENFIDDICH 40YR SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY 700ML

Exotic and immediately complex. Fragrant yet savoury, deep woody notes balanced by surprising freshness. Like entering a country house in autumn: pot pourri, old leather, log fires, leaf mulch on the boots, beeswax polish. Then comes sesame, dried fruits, dried mint, bitter chocolate, treacle toffee. In time there's flamed Seville orange peel (English marmalade), allspice and ancient solera palo cortado (from one of the finer sherry houses) and after half an hour a sweet chocolate. All of this is playing against a musky, woody note. Fascinating. Medium to full bodied with tannic grip. Again the savoury note takes charge, this time with added menthol, black cherry, tobacco, dried strawberry and banana(!), raisin, rose petal. Then nuts come to the fore followed by a drying yet lively fungal smokiness. The tannins try to bite but there's enough to balance. A remarkable whisky. Each time a small percentage of the previous vatting is kept back for use in the next, making this a type of Solera process.