Showing posts with label Middleton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Middleton. Show all posts

Green Spot Chateau Leoville-Barton Finish


“Red Red Wine”


Whisky Review # 980

Country: Ireland 🇮🇪
Brand: Green Spot Chateau Leoville-Barton Finish
Matured and Bottled for: Mitchell & Son, Dublin
Distilled at: Middleton
Type: Single Pot Still Whiskey
Age: NAS
Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 46% (Triple-Distilled)
Maturation: Bourbon Casks, New American Oak & Oloroso Sherried Wood  (7-10 Y.)
Finish: Chateau Leoville-Barton Red Wine Casks (1-2 Years)
Chill Filtration: Probably not
Sample provided by Jan from The Netherlands. Many Thanks!
Price Range: US$ 50-65 (March 2023)
Price/Quality Ratio: 👍 Okay at around US$ 50
Buying Advice: 👎 If you like Red Wine, better drink Red Wine😜

Colour: Golden Amber (Artificially Colored)

Nose:

Light and quite Sweet but not unpleasant. The Alcohol is noticeable and so is the Fresh American Oak. The Red Wine Finish influence is quite strong resulting in lots of Sweet and Sour Fruit. The Sherry influence is rather limited.

Main Aromas:

Sweet Barley, Butter Biscuits, Toffee, Baked Apples sprinkled with Cinnamon, Sour Fruit (Strawberry, Raspberry, Cherries, Grapefruit, Lemon), Grass and Earth, Milk-Chocolate, New and Charred Oak, Pepper and Ginger.
    
Supportive Aroma Accents:

Caramel, Peach-Filled Puff Pastry, Warm Banana sprinkled with Nutmeg, Mulled Red Wine, Toasted Pineapple, Floral Perfume, Marzipan, Almonds, Farm, Dyon Mustard, Leather, Tobacco, Fresh Herbs, Cloves and Curry. Distant hint of PVC Pipes & some Varnish.


Palate:

A Mix of Sugary Sweet, Bitter and Sour notes. There's a bit of an Artificial Feel to it. It's a rather Young Whiskey and the Alcohol is a little on the Rough side. Can't complain about the amount of Fruit but overall it's a bit too Sweet for my taste.

Main Flavours:

Sweet Barley, Sugar, Toffee, Baked Apples and Bananas, Sour Fruit (Strawberry, Lemon, Raspberry, Grapefruit, Red Currant, Cherries), Milk Chocolate, Charred Oak, Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger and Nutmeg.

Supportive Flavour Accents:

Caramel, Honey, Vanilla, Marzipan, Nougat, Sour Mulled Wine, Peach Ice Cream, Grass, Cloves, Curry, Wet Rocks, Plastic and Varnish.

Finish:

Middle-Long and quite Sweet. Increasing Bitterness and some Sour notes enter the game towards the Dry end. There is a rather strong Artificial Off-Note that I can't quite pin down. It's not really Plastic but it goes in that direction. The Finish is the weakest part of this Green Spot. I find Sweet Malt, Caramel, Vanilla, Honey, Sugar, Baked Apples and Bananas, Sour Fruit (Grapefruit, Strawberry, Raspberry, Lemon), Milk Chocolate, Charred Oak, Sour Red Wine, Varnish, Dirty Earth, Wax, Cinnamon, Pepper, Cloves, Curry, Nougat and Leather.

Drinking Advice:

Due to the size of the sample I only tasted this Green Spot neat.

Rating: 7  (*******)

Nose: 7.5 - Taste: 7 - Finish: 6.5

*** Important Note with respect to Rating.

A few of my loyal readers have pointed out that every once in a while my final Rating note did not seem to be totally in line with the written text. I recognize that. When I started this Whisky Blog back in 2011, I was not at all experienced in tasting and scoring Single Malts & Blends. Looking back I realize that during the early years I probably scored the good Whiskies too low and the not so good Whiskies too high. Ever since the beginning I try to remain consequent in my rating, always comparing the outcome to the rating of comparable whiskies in terms of quality and taste and adjusting the final rating if necessary. This might lead to the discrepancy I mentioned before. As a result I have decided to use a new rating system this year. I will still give a rating for Nose, Taste and Finish but now on the scale from 1-10 whereby 1 represents the worst and 10 the best. The sum of these numbers will be divided by 3 to get the final score. I hope this new scoring makes it easier for you to understand what I thought about the whisky I'm reviewing.

If the Final score is above 8 you can safely buy the whisky in question if and when it fits your Aroma/Flavor profile. If the score is between 6 and 8 you might want to try it out in the form of a sample or if offered at a good price. Anything below 6 should be left alone when you are looking for a nice sipping whisky. You might still like it of course & I realize pricing is an important item for many whisky fans especially when you are used to enjoy whisky in a cocktail or a mixed drink. Please let me know what you think of the new rating system and leave your comments and/or suggestions.

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay

Conclusion:

This Green Spot is the first Irish Pot Still Whisky that received a Finish in Bordeaux Red Wine casks. And not just any Red Wine casks but casks that formerly contained the famous Grand Cru Classe Chateau Leoville-Barton (Saint-Julien) that is still run by descendants of the Irish wine-maker Thomas Barton.

I love Whisky and I love Red Wine but I prefer to enjoy them separately. I've never been a huge fan of Red Wine-finished Whisky and this Green Spot won't change my mind I'm afraid. The Leoville-Barton casks provide lots of Fruit, especially on the Nose, and that's a good thing but they also bring slightly overwhelming Sweet and Sour Flavours. There's also an Artificial feel to this Green Spot that I don't care for. I'm sure that many people will like this but I'm not one of them. My advise would be to try a sample first or stay with the standard Green Spot.

Cheers! 🥃

Jan van den Ende                                                                          March 2, 2023