Arran Small Batch 2009-2019 St-Émilion

5 June 2020

This is a guest review by our good friend Jan Temming

Arran St-Émilion is specially bottled for the Netherlands with only 1920 bottles. As the name says, the whisky has completely matured on St-émilion red wine casks (Bordeaux, France). There has been no colouring and the whisky is bottled at cask strength (54.9%)

I (Jan) began my whisky adventure with a bottle of the Arran 10yo. Did I really taste some oranges and canned peach fruits? Yes I did….!! These notes made me curious what to expect from the Arran St-émilion and I was not disappointed..

Some say that whisky and water don’t combine, who am I to judge. However, a few drops of water gave me a whole new experience with this Arran:

Tasting notes

Nose

The nose is a little bit pale, very peppery and sharp in the first place but… add a few drops of water and the rich Arran fruitiness like the Arran 10yo, 14yo and 18yo will appear. Hints of white chocolate, raspberry and peaches will come to live. All is covered in a buttery layer (will this be the St-émilion influence?)

Palate

Fresh whipped cream, red fruits and hints of milk chocolate will appear. This is also the point where the St-émilion red wine will come a little bit to the surface.

Finish

Dates, cream, tropical fruits and then… finally… the red wine influence is noticeable! The finish is medium long with the chocolate and pepper to last.

The Arran St-Émilionwill give you ‘the Arran experience’. However, the red wine influences are a little bit absent in my opinion. Still a nice one to have in the collection, maybe because there are only 1920 bottles ever made…