Glenmorangie is a single malt whisky that is no stranger to wine cask maturation. But the new Glenmorangie Pursuit of Passion Wine Cask Collection elevates that association to a different level.
Fans of the Highland distillery will be used to core expressions such as The Lasanta 12 Years Old (Sherry casks), The Quinta Ruban 14 Years Old (Port casks) and The Nectar 16 Years Old (sweet wine). This new trio of whiskies, however, explores three of the wine world’s most hallowed locations: Margaux, Corton-Charlemagne and Barbaresco.
Nor is the title – Pursuit of Passion – a mere marketing tag. ‘While whisky is my life, wine is my hobby,’ says Glenmorangie Master Distiller Dr Bill Lumsden, a long-time collector with a decent cellar. ‘There’s no doubt that it drove many of the little experiments which led to this whisky collection.’
One notable feature of the new range is the length of the wine cask maturation – ‘finishing’ really is a misnomer here. The trio were aged for a total of 27 to 29 years each, of which 18 to 20 years were spent in their respective wine casks.
This places them early in the history of Lumsden’s Glenmorangie career. He spent four years as distillery manager in the ’90s before taking on the forerunner of his current role, including the responsibility for cask sourcing.
‘Then the gloves were off in terms of experimenting,’ Dr Lumsden recalls. ‘That’s when I had barrels from Yquem and Romanée-Conti and such like. It was around 2003 to 2005 that these particular experiments were carried out.’
Some wine cask experiments are a real unknown quantity, he adds. ‘With the Margaux, I was fairly sure how that would work out because I’ve used Bordeaux barrels before: red fruit, white chocolate, cedar wood and cigar box.
‘I bought the Corton-Charlemagne just out of curiosity, because I find it a little bit of an outlier in the world of great white Burgundy – an appellation that a lot of people are not that familiar with… When I went back to taste it four or five years ago, I was intrigued by just how good it was.
‘With the Barbaresco, I just did not know at all how that was going to turn out. Nebbiolo is so much more bold and full-bodied, and tends to be a bit more tannic than Sangiovese from Tuscany. So I was a little bit cautious, but it seemed to work pretty well.’
Priced at £7,740/€9,000 per set, the Glenmorangie Pursuit of Passion Wine Cask Collection is available from autumn 2024 through the Moët Hennessy Private Client channel and from the Glenmorangie boutique in Heathrow Terminal 2, as well as from select retailers worldwide and the distillery visitor centre in Tain from October. Registrations of interest can also be made on the Glenmorangie website.
Glenmorangie Pursuit of Passion Wine Cask Collection: Tasting notes
Glenmorangie Barbaresco Wine Cask Finish
Rich, decadent and oily, this is an absolute beast of a whisky but a well-dressed one. There’s candied plum and Red Delicious apple on the nose, building into ripe dates and then molasses. The palate is positively oily and richly sweet, showing black cherries in dark chocolate, a petrichor element and an anis lift that is found – in various forms – across all three whiskies. A 27-year-old bottling. Alcohol 51.3%
Glenmorangie Corton-Charlemagne Wine Cask Finish
Restraint from the outset here, combining jasmine, honeysuckle and pink peppercorn, before deepening into hazelnut praline and pastel de nata – all lifted by notes of lime flower and lemongrass. The palate shows great depth, with dark honey, Pontefract cake and charred pineapple. The anis notes are borne aloft by the velvety mouthfeel. A 28-year-old bottling. Alc 52.1%
Glenmorangie Margaux Wine Cask Finish
Fresh and not remotely jammy, with raspberry and redcurrant to the fore on the nose, accompanied by a scented floral note edging into Parma Violet sweets. The texture on the palate is pure silk – a common feature of the range – carrying darker notes of plum and cassis, undercut by eucalyptus. An extremely elegant and beautifully balanced whisky. A 29-year-old bottling. Alc 52.5%