Port Charlotte 2001

£1,169.00

VAT included

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Sku: 006

Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky – 21 Years Aged In A Rum Barrel

The collector’s edition offers ten bottles accompanied with Shaun Fraser’s ‘Peat to Gold’ sculpture. A truely exquisite masterpiece of fine whisky and art working collectively.

Spirit strength: 48.7%

Distilled: 18/07/2001

Bottle size: 700ml

Distillery: Bruichladdich

Artist: Peat Sculpture by Shaun Fraser

Total bottles: 259

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Vintage Bottlers selected the Port Charlotte 2001 - 21 Year Old Single Cask Whisky for its unique characteristics and historical significance. Distilled at Bruichladdich Distillery on the Isle of Islay, this whisky was matured entirely in a single rum barrel. This choice highlights the first year of production of the new rendition of this renowned malt whisky.

The choice of Shaun Fraser, a Scottish artist, to create glass peat sculptures accompanying the whisky, adds a distinctively cultural and artistic dimension to the experience, blending traditional Scottish craftsmanship in both whisky and art. This collaboration signifies a tribute to the rich Scottish heritage and the profound sensory journey of whisky tasting.

Shaun often finds that he's as interested in the idea of a place as the place itself and think the actual and the imagined versions are equally valid. Peat and local soils into my sculpture gives the work an innate link to the landscape, something which he believe's to be very important in his practice, the ability to evoke that sense of place.

Colour: Pale gold

Nose: A waft of aromatic woodsmoke, some herbal notes, a little menthol and medicinal peat arrive first, with a touch of cocoa-heavy chocolate and stewed, spiced apple. Very upfront and savoury, with a nicely balanced sweetness.

Palate: An oily and viscous mouthfeel, with the spiced apple strudel, a waft of lemon zest, some cracked black pepper and more of the herbal, aromatic smoke. The peat is very well balanced and zingy. With the addition of water, the influence of the rum cask begins to come alive, with some barbecued sweet potato and banana, a well-rounded sweetness and a distinct molasses-led depth, coating the palate.

Finish: Long lasting and smoky, with a slight charred oak note and herbal savouriness.

Overall comment: Very distinct and complex, this showcases the uniqueness of Islay’s Port Charlotte distillery, but also gives it a Caribbean-led vibrancy too. A cracker of a cask.

By Neil Ridley, Drinks Writer and Presenter on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch

Bruichladdich Distillery
Isle of Islay
Argyll
Scotland
PA49 7UN

In 1885-6, when legendary writer on whisky Alfred Barnard visited Lochindaal at Port Charlotte on Islay as part of his marathon tour, he remarked on the "old-fashioned" distillery, and the fact that only peat was used to fire the stills which were producing a prodigious 125,000 gallons of spirit a year. Certainly contemporary photographs in the Islay Museum of History show huge piles of peat standing outside the distillery buildings.

Founded in 1829, one of many distilleries to be launched on the island around this time, transforming the working lives of many inhabitants from subsistence farming to paid jobs, Lochindaal existed for exactly 100 years before a combination of the Great Depression, prohibition in America and over-production in Scotland caused its closure. It later re-opened and passed from owner to owner, before production was moved a mile or two along the bay to Bruichladdich and was re-named Port Charlotte.

We at Vintage Bottlers are especially proud to be able to offer a 2001 Port Charlotte matured entirely in a single rum barrel, bottled at 48.7% ABV. This being the very first year of production of the new rendition of this superb malt whisky.

The light straw colour gives no indication of the myriad and varied taste pleasures that are to come. Matured in rum barrels, an initial hint of that spirit is quickly fused with dry peat smoke laced through with a sharp hint of citrus. And then the distinctive Islay iodine kicks in, betraying its seaside provenance and the briny Atlantic winds that have caressed the spirit over 21 years. There is a strong background of toasted oats, and with every sip, that earthy base that comes from a malt with a peat level of 40 ppm. The finish is long and smooth and smoky, calling to mind a favourite briar pipe that has long been allowed to go out.

For many generations, Islay malts have had an immense, worldwide fan club among those who prefer their whisky peat-laden, complex and serious. Our 2001 Port Charlotte is at once both an archetypal and an exceptional example of the genre. Superbly balanced, of great depth and hugely satisfying, the darts of orange and lemon zest that surprise the taste buds from beginning to end are a marvellous counterpoint to the smokiness.

Single Rum Barrel