An LMDW exclusive

Alternating between incredibly intense peaty, smoky, iodine and animal sequences and very voluptuous fruity, honeyed, liquorice and malty episodes, this version shows that oloroso sherry ageing fits Ledaig like a glove. For proof, look no further than the tasting note for the Ledaig 2007 also found in our 2021 Creation Catalogue. For this 2005 vintage, this duality is based above all on the theme of complicity, which begins from the first nose and finds its epilogue in the dried extracts of the empty glass. It creates an extremely well-balanced single malt firmly rooted in the volcanic soil of the isle from which it hails.

Profile: the heady first nose reveals notes of bitter orange, dried apricot, sleet, a lovely rancio and increasingly oily and rich peat. Allowed to breathe, it becomes honeyed (acacia, lime blossom), spicy (clove), medicinal (ointment) and marine (smoked fish). The dynamic attack is malty and smoky. On the mid-palate, praline and a fine layer of caramel cover the taste buds. Next, at the end of the palate, peat leaves an iodine and medicinal imprint. The well-balanced start of the finish is smoky (Havana cigar) and animal (bacon). Mouth-watering and like chewing on liquorice stick. The delicately cocoa retro-nasal olfaction is herbaceous (pipe tobacco, alfalfa), ashy and spicy (star anise).