Lagavulin, The Syndicate, 40-Year-Old, Bottled 2019, Islay, Single Malt Scotch Whisky (49.1%)
About this SPIRIT
Lagavulin Distillery, Islay
Lagavulin has been made on the same site, on the south shore of Islay since at least 1816. To most whisky lovers Islay means one thing, peat. Peat has fuelled life in the island for centuries, and there is an awful lot of it covering miles of bog in the west of the island. Lagavulin's barley is malted at nearby Port Ellen, where it is bestowed with it's characteristic peat reek.
The other major influence of the rich flavoursome character of Lagavulin is the wood in which it matures, 16 years for the standard expression. Unlike most other distilleries here there is a reliance on mainly Spanish, ex sherry casks, which add to the ripe suppleness of the finished dram.
Michael Jackson, perhaps the most famous of whisky writers summed Lagavulin perfectly, “An Islay classic. In the peatiness typical of the island, this is the most powerfully, intensely, dry. It also has smoke, salt and seaweedy, medicinal notes, though those characteristics are more evident in some of its neighbours.”
Islay Whisky
The whisky region of Islay (pronounced eye-la) is arguably the most important 200 or so square miles in the whisky world. On the face of it Islay just another island of the Inner Hebrides. It lies in Argyll just to the west of Jura and around 25 miles north of the Irish coast, which can be seen on a clear day.
The island's fame as far as whisky goes is due to the 8 distilleries currently in production and the vast tracts of peat that cover most of the island's surface. The whisky distilleries are: Ardbeg, Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila, Kilchoman (this is the newest distillery on the island which started producing spirit in 2005), Lagavulinand Laphroaig.
The 8 distilleries with whisky for sale can be divided up, depending on the amount of peat used. The `big 3' are Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig who all produce powerful smoke laden whiskies. The new malt produced by Kilchoman is also very powerful indeed.
Occupying the middle ground are Bowmore and Caol Ila. The whiskies produced at Bruichladdich and Bunnahabhain are in peat terms at least, the lightest.
There were more distilleries in the past: Port Ellen closed in 1983 while the Lochindaal at Port Charlotte closed in1929. The buildings at Port Ellen are however still in use, it is here that malted barley for the island's distilleries is produced.
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Description
For me, peaty whisky can be measured on a spectrum which begins with “there’s just a hint” and ends somewhere around “putting my head into a fireplace”. This venerable old Lagavulin goes beyond even this, it’s like walking into a room where the night before a large peat fire raged and now just the memory of it hangs in the air. It’s still there and still so well-integrated, but beautifully mellow. There is still a clear, well-defined fruit profile too, and then that classic Lagavulin texture supports all of it. Remember this was distilled in 1979, back when their spirit was oily and rich in barley character. I tasted this in London last month and then got on the tube afterwards and the taste of it lingered on well after I had got off. A very, very memorable whisky.
Will Wrightson, Spirits Specialist (August 2019)
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