Domaine D'Esperance 1999 Single Cask 17yo...

Domaine D'Esperance 1999 Single Cask 17yo (49.0%): And the last sample from PM Spirits I have on my desk today is another single cask. Domaine D'Esperance is a relatively small estate distilling only one week in a year and filling about 30 casks in total. It is distilled 100% from Baco grapes and aged for 17 years first in a 420 liter new Gascon oak cask and then transferred into a used one with the same capacity carrying the cask number #66. It is bottled at cask strength.

Color: Medium amber, orange blossom honey color with a ring of tiny teardrops all around the glass turning into fat, oily and slow moving legs in time.

Nose: Whole cloves, milk chocolate bars and nutmeg. Tung oil, candle wax and toasted hardwood. After airing for a while: Root beer, Earl Grey tea leaves and Meyer lemons. Old winter clothings forgotten in a cardboard box in the attic...

Palate: Zante currants, hot chocolate and crystallized ginger. Ground coriander, cinnamon and ground cloves. Viscous and quite creamy mouthfeel: Cream soda, vanilla and candied orange peels. Dry wood and pine honey. 

Finish: Medium to long finish with Ricola drops, eucalyptus and baked raisins.

Overall: In spite of being a single cask this bottling is actually quite balanced, easy to drink and not cask driven. It is dangerously quaffable... Among four samples I received from PM Spirits this happened to be my favorite one. Thanks again to PM Spirits sending me all these samples for review purposes without any strings attached. All notes above are my own.

Price: $120

91/100