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Release Notes
We are pleased to announce the first world-wide release of the new cult Islay whisky - Port Charlotte.
Distilled from heavily peated Scottish barley, to the tune of 40 ppm, it is one of the most smokey Islay single malts while its Bruichladdich origins gives it a surprising elegance and finesse.
To distinguish it, being the polar opposite to normal Bruichladdich, we called it Port Charlotte, or 'PC' as it is now affectionately know, after the neighbouring village where it has matured since 2001.
To date it has been available only to serious whisky fans and collectors at both high cask strength and in limited editions. The award-winning, dramatic picture-tinned PC5, 6, 7 and 8 charted the evolution of this new Islay single malt via the people and places behind it.
Now we now have the definitive PC. It's a very compelling dram at drinking strength. We've presented it as a multi-vintage as it benefits from a variety of American oak casks artfully put together by Jim for optimum enjoyment, so now a much wider audience can enjoy the mighty enigma that is Port Charlotte.
Port Charlotte MV An Turas Mor, the peaty version of Bruichladdich, now forms part of the company's mainstream portfolio of Islay single malts alongside Classic and The Organic.
PC was distilled and bottled at Bruichladdich Distillery at 46% with Islay spring water, non chill-filtered and caramel-free.
Bruichladdich
2010's release of Port Charlotte is a departure from previous years in two significant ways: as a multi-vintage vatting and being bottled at 46% rather than the humungous cask strength of the earlier PC's. An Turas Mor ("The Great Journey", it says here) is intended as a coming-of-age PC, and, it is claimed, fulfils Jim McEwan's original vision for the brand. The journey continues...
The Whisky Exchange
3rd Party Tasting Notes
This one is a multi-vintage version (from 5 to 8 years old, which means 5 years old I guess) and it's been unfinished. I'd bet unfinished will soon be the new unchilfilttered or uncaramelised in Scotland. The Scots are always extremely good at selling something they do not do, aren't they, and we punter are ready to pay more for that. Enough ramblings.:
Colour: straw.
Nose: Port Charlotte in its naked truth, and believe me it's an entrancing truth. We're far from many attempts at making peated malt at distilleries that usually don't do peat (not specifically accusing anybody here of course, and of course not Arran), or maybe is it because Bruichladdich used to be peated in the old days? This is beautifully clean and superbly mineral, with some paraffin (nice paraffin, not the paraffin that can suggest a flaw), graphite, coal, linseed oil, even motor oil, wet rocks, a little raw wool, earth, then a little fresh mint and dill... gets then sootier, in a perfect manner. A very mineral Riesling-malt, which I just cannot not love.
Nose (w. Water): pass.
Mouth: probably a little less zingy than in the nose, and certainly fruitier, with even unexpected notes of rum (rather white). Other than that it's rather more medicinal than expected, slightly camphory, briny, liquoricy, getting ashier and sootier again after a while. Some liquorice wood as well. Maybe wee tad less distinctive than on the nose but it's still rather perfect.
Finish: it's long, clean, warming, rather more herbal and minty. An earthy rootiness in the aftertaste. Comments: not just peat, Port Charlotte. I'm sure you see what I mean. This with two or three more years will make it above 90 in my book, sure bet (as I'm sure any 9 or 10yo 2001 would).
Rating: 89 points.
Colour: straw.
Nose: Port Charlotte in its naked truth, and believe me it's an entrancing truth. We're far from many attempts at making peated malt at distilleries that usually don't do peat (not specifically accusing anybody here of course, and of course not Arran), or maybe is it because Bruichladdich used to be peated in the old days? This is beautifully clean and superbly mineral, with some paraffin (nice paraffin, not the paraffin that can suggest a flaw), graphite, coal, linseed oil, even motor oil, wet rocks, a little raw wool, earth, then a little fresh mint and dill... gets then sootier, in a perfect manner. A very mineral Riesling-malt, which I just cannot not love.
Nose (w. Water): pass.
Mouth: probably a little less zingy than in the nose, and certainly fruitier, with even unexpected notes of rum (rather white). Other than that it's rather more medicinal than expected, slightly camphory, briny, liquoricy, getting ashier and sootier again after a while. Some liquorice wood as well. Maybe wee tad less distinctive than on the nose but it's still rather perfect.
Finish: it's long, clean, warming, rather more herbal and minty. An earthy rootiness in the aftertaste. Comments: not just peat, Port Charlotte. I'm sure you see what I mean. This with two or three more years will make it above 90 in my book, sure bet (as I'm sure any 9 or 10yo 2001 would).
Rating: 89 points.
Whisky Fun:
N: Butterscotch candy. Little else:
P: Tastes unsurprisingly like watered down PC. Oddly, the first taste is watery, then the scotch flavors catch up and blow out with little finish. I know the assumption is that this is a 9 yr old, but I don't think so. I'm getting a punch of young peat. Probably a blend of 3-7 years. If not, I'm worried for Port Charlotte. I can't say I'd drink this over a Laphroaig 10. Also, it's sweet for an Islay.
R: B-
P: Tastes unsurprisingly like watered down PC. Oddly, the first taste is watery, then the scotch flavors catch up and blow out with little finish. I know the assumption is that this is a 9 yr old, but I don't think so. I'm getting a punch of young peat. Probably a blend of 3-7 years. If not, I'm worried for Port Charlotte. I can't say I'd drink this over a Laphroaig 10. Also, it's sweet for an Islay.
R: B-
Andy, LA Whiskey Society:
Nose: Victorian London, all sooty smoke, smoggy, with an assortment of aromas from stale fish and over ripe fruit to cooking fires. Palate: Sweet at first, balanced and easy with gooseberries poached in cream, then the trademark smoke and peat but not as fierce and aggressive as in the past. You're expecting Jack The Ripper, you get the Artful Dodger. Get over it though, because it's a beauty. Finish: Peat, pear and fgreen fruit, in an enjoyable but pussy cat finish. the above are dominic's notes, this is in our regions of scotland tasting. The score is the current club average.:
Other comments: "Despite lacking the mega PC kick of the previous PCs, on the taste this has a long, full on peat finish which has the true peat chili type magnifying effect. This is an excellent whisky, I want to put it head to head with Ardbeg 10 (thats how much I like it). I think this is an excellent development and expect to have this in on a regular basis. "
"This reminds me a of a peated Bunnahabhain. It's not like an Ardbeg or a Laphroaig, where you can tell the identity of the distillery from the underlying signature of the spirit but it's very good and well worth the price."
Other comments: "Despite lacking the mega PC kick of the previous PCs, on the taste this has a long, full on peat finish which has the true peat chili type magnifying effect. This is an excellent whisky, I want to put it head to head with Ardbeg 10 (thats how much I like it). I think this is an excellent development and expect to have this in on a regular basis. "
"This reminds me a of a peated Bunnahabhain. It's not like an Ardbeg or a Laphroaig, where you can tell the identity of the distillery from the underlying signature of the spirit but it's very good and well worth the price."
Whisky Connosr:
The Distillery: Bruichladdich
| Established: 1881 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Bruichladdich, Islay, Argyll, PA49 7UNI, UK |
| → website |
In the new Millenium
The Bruichladdich distillery lies on the north shore of Lochindaal (directly opposite Bowmore), which made it the westernmost distillery in Scotland until Kilchoman was officially opened in 2005.
The overwhelming succes that Mark and Jim have had with the bottlings they released from these old stocks is a perfect illustration of the crucial role of careful cask selection; Bruichladdich was transformed from an ugly duckling into a swan. Well, I"m sure clever marketing also helped.
Apart from the traditionally lightly peated spirit that is still produced under the name Bruichladdich, two more heavily peated malts are being produced at the distillery. A heavily peated (40 PPM) malt under the name "Port Charlotte" (the name of the village two miles south of the distillery) is being produced since October 2002 and they also have an even more heavily peated (80.5 PPM) malt with the name "Octomore". This is the name of another silent Islay distillery in the area, situated in a farm next to the warehouses of the old Lochindaal distillery. The original Octomore distillery was closed in 1852, three decades before Bruichladdich was built. However, a link with the past remains; Bruichladdich uses spring water from Octomore farm.
The Bruichladdich distillery was mothballed again in January 1995 and sold in 2000 to a consortium of twenty five different shareholders that operated under the name "Bruichladdich Distillery Co. Ltd.".
Driving force behind the purchase was Murray McDavid"s Mark Reynier. Together with other seasoned professionals like Jim McEwan (formerly of Bowmore) they managed to get the production started again in May 2001. Although that new spirit probably won"t be widely available until well after 2010, the new owners also acquired a lot of maturing stocks that were laid down by Invergordon and JBB / Whyte & Mackay.
Bruichladdich was constructed in 1881 by Robert, William and John Gourlay Harvey. Members of the Harvey family remained owners and shareholders until 1929 when the Bruichladdich distillery was mothballed.
In 1938 Bruichladdich (also known as Bruichladdie) was sold to Hatim Attari, Joheph W.Hobbs and Alexander W.Tolmie. And the distillery kept changing hands like a hot potato. In 1952 it was sold to Ross & Coulter Ltd, who in turn sold it to A.B. Grant in 1960. Invergordon Distillers acquired Bruichladdich in 1968 and expanded the number of stills from two to four in 1975, before selling it on to JBB / Whyte & Mackay.
Until recently Associated Scottish Distillers also offered a so-called "bastard" bottling of Bruichladdich under the name Loch Indaal or Lochindaal. This bottle was named after the old Lochindaal distillery located East of the village of Port Charlotte, which used to have its own distilleries. Lochindaal operated until 1929 when it was dismantled. Its warehouses are now used to store the Port Charlotte malt. Until recently Bruichladdich was the only surviving distillery on the Western peninsula, but since the new Kilchoman distillery was opened in 2005 by proprietor Anthony Willis the number of western Islay distilleries doubled.
And the future looks bright for the friendly people of Bruichladdich. With the new bottling plant that was opened in 2003, Bruichladdich can now bottle its own malts on site, providing some much needed employment opportunities on this relatively remote part of Islay in the process. It"s much more convenient for Bruichladdich as well; before they opened the bottling plant they shipped tankers full of spring water from James Brown"s farm at Octomore to the mainland to dilute the whisky from the casks to 46%.
2000 - At the start of the new millennium the Bruichladdich distillery is bought by bottler Murray McDavid. Reports say that the price of the distillery was 6,500,000 GBP at the time - including maturing stocks.
2001 - The driving force behind the purchase of the distillery was Murray McDavid"s Mark Reynier. Shortly after the distillery was obtained by the new owners, Bowmore"s Jim McEwan was called in as production director.
2006 - The first bottling of Port Charlotte is released; a more heavily peated brand of the Bruichladdich.
2012 - On September 3rd the distillery is sold to Rémy Cointreau.
Trivia:
- For their first new bottlings the new owners used extremely lightly peated barley of 2 PPM.
- William Harvey (the father of the Harvey brothers that built Bruichladdich in 1881) was the owner of two other distilleries; Yoker and Dundashill.
- Bruichladdich distillery is open to visitors all year, Monday to Friday. Tours are available at 10.30am 11.30am and 2.30am (and at 10.30am on Summer Saturdays).
- Bruichladdich is one of almost two dozen malt whisky distilleries that were founded over a century ago during the "whisky boom" of the late 19th century and which have managed to survive until this day. The other survivors include Aberfeldy, Ardmore, Aultmore, Balvenie, Benriach, Benromach, Bunnahabhain, Craigellachie, Dalwhinnie, Dufftown, Glendullan, Glenfiddich, Glenrothes, Glentauchers, Knockandu, Knockdhu, Longmorn, Tamdhu and Tomatin.
from Malt Maniacs
The Owner: Rémy Cointreau
| Established: 1724 |
| Silent since: False |
| Address: Avenue de Gimeux |
| → website |
Rémy Martin, a wine maker from the Cognac region founded the business in 1724. It was acquired by Andre Renaud in 1924. Through various acquisitions the company took ownership of champagne brands such as Charles Heidsieck and Piper Heidsieck, Mount Gay Rum. In 1991 the company changed name to Rémy Cointreau. Since then the group as acquired the Bols and Metaxa brands. On September 3rd the group acquires Bruichladdich distillery on Islay.
from Various