Octomore 2010 Ten Aged Years 5th Limited Release

 

 

 

56,3°

Distillery : Bruichladdich - Islay 

1st Fill ex-American Oak Casks and Ribera del Duero Wine Barriques Finish 

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2021

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 90,3 ppm

It's already the 5th edition of the 10 year old at Octomore, an oxymoronic expression if ever there was one, because the very principle of Octomore is to be very young in order to preserve its power and its ardor. Each edition follows a different maturation, this one spent 5 years in American oak barrels before being transferred for the next 5 years in casks of Spanish wine Ribera del Duero, a wine from the North of the country which has the particularity of being cultivated in height, on hills of 900 m. approximately. The set was produced at 3,500 bottles before going on sale at the beginning of 2022.

Let's Taste It : 

Thick smoke, to cut with a knife. The weather is heavy with humidity, it smells like a storm. With the addition of water, the wine reveals itself, beautiful fruity sweetness, kiwi, persimmon, white currants, mango, peach, pineapple, rum baba. Iridescent iodine. A little rocky. Then the peat rises, powerful, oily, muddy. Some forest fragrances, ferns, fir trees, bark. Quince coated in icing sugar, dried apricots. Duck in orange, cinnamon. Initially fairly smooth on the palate, rosewater, light wine, then the spices come to the fore and it's quite violent, cumin, nutmeg, grey pepper. Cloves. A hint of lemon and red plum. In the background, black ash, charred wood. Long, powerful finish, loaded with heavy fruits, watermelon, tomato, melon, with greasy charcoal, asphalt still warm, gravel scraping the throat. Tannins, heathery earth.

 

In Short, 

It's a solid Octomore, not the best, but one of the good ones. It has matured in a similar way to the 07.3, and I place it just below. The 13.3 is also very close. The small criticism I could make of this one is its gentleness. It's very wise for an Octomore. Sure, there's smoke, there's peat, but where's the coal, the earth, the plastic? It's all so cute. It's still a very enjoyable bottling. The price is high, but for an Octomore, you have to accept a few sacrifices.

Score : 90

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Soen - Tabula Rasa