The GlenAllachie 2012 Vintage Cuvée Wine Cask Finish Single Malt Whisky
Billy Walker’s vision for The GlenAllachie Distillery was simple: take a high-quality spirit and mature it in the best wood available.
The base spirit is fruity, light, a classic Speyside profile tweaked to emphasize the regionality. You can hear more about it in my interview with Ronan Currie, GlenAllachie’s Assistant Blender and Sales Director.
Walker’s 50+ years in the Scotch industry (not to mention a 2021 induction into the Icons of Whisky Hall of Fame) have exposed him to every type of cask out there. With the Cuvée finish, he marries multiple wine casks of different types into a final product.
The GlenAllachie’s spirit was first aged in ex-bourbon casks before being divided between four types of wine from three regions: two in France (Bordeaux and Languedoc) and Valpolicella from Italy. Personally, I don’t have much experience with Bordeaux or Languedoc, but I’m a sucker for Valpolicella wines, especially Amarone (ok, so Amarone della Valpolicella is more from Veneto, but close enough).
This pour is quite special, but more importantly I would say it doesn’t requires much time or experience to appreciate. If you’re a fan of The GlenAllachie, you’ll love this off the bat. Same goes for if you’re a fan of wine finishes.
If you’re a fan of Speyside whiskies generally, you’ll get that fruity character with fresh stone fruits and orange zest plus a slightly tannic wine finish that keeps the sweetness in check and adds astringency to the mouthfeel. Each of the wine casks was a barrique, slightly larger than a standard barrel, so not much time was needed to impart the wine flavors.
This limited edition is also notable for something I don’t usually consider: the price.
At 9 years old, including the finishing, $100 is mind-boggling. Keep in mind, when Walker took over GlenAllachie he reduced their output by 80%, from 4M LPA to 800,000 LPA. Granted, this liquid is from stocks distilled before that, but business-wise they’re clearly facing smaller stocks in the future by design. Add in multiple cask finishes, each cask costing a few hundred at minimum, Walker’s own experience (which in my mind would command a premium all by itself) and this should cost twice that.
I’m honest in my reviews - there’s a disclaimer below. I may have been given a sample of this, but it doesn’t require me to comment on the price or anything else about the product. Hell, if I don’t like something, I can decline to write about it (or still write about it despite it being sent by a sponsor).
This is a wonderful whisky to experience. The wine finishing - as to be expected with Billy Walker - is phenomenal, demonstrated in Walker’s mastery of maturation. GlenAllachie’s vibrant spirit is never lost during the pour as it bounces between grape varietals and regions.
Most of all, it continues a broader trend of sub-10-year-old Scotch whiskies that are just as delicious if not better than some of their older counterparts. Blinded, I pegged this closer to 15 years based on the astringency and medium-bodied mouthfeel.
And while it doesn’t factor into my scoring, I have to finish by again mentioning that all this is for $100 in the US. I’ll let that bedevil me while I finish the bottle I bought for myself.
A sample of this bottle was provided at no cost by ImpEx Beverages, The GlenAllachie’s importer and a Whiskey Ring Podcast sponsor. All opinions herein are my own.
The GlenAllachie 2012 Vintage Cuvée Wine Cask Finish Single Malt Whisky: Specs
Classification: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Origin: The GlenAllachie Distillery
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Proof: 96 (48% ABV)
Age: 9 Years Old (2012-2022)
Location: Scotland
The GlenAllachie 2012 Vintage Cuvée Wine Cask Finish Single Malt Whisky Price: $100
The GlenAllachie 2012 Vintage Cuvée Wine Cask Finish Single Malt Whisky: Tasting Notes
Eye: 18k gold with the barest hint of rosé. Thin but steady rims, teardrops falling slowly.
Nose: The cuvée blend is strong out of the gate. Lots of white and rosé wine bouquets that perfume the glass and flow out freely. The whisky takes a second sniff to come out and doesn’t go back into hiding. White grapes with their skins. Mild proof up the nose with oak. Mixed berry jam on toast towards the end.
Palate: Rosewater and orange liqueur, a stronger oak presence than I was expecting. Manuka honey, wheat toast, drying red wine casks and clearly recognizable French oak tannins. Mouthfeel is silky, medium-bodied and moderately filling. Quite peppery in an enjoyable way. Tingles around the edges of my tongue and throat. A prosecco-esque feeling, not overly coating.
Finish: Medium length in flavor, short side of medium in feeling. The dry red wine carries through with just enough fresh white wine and oak to keep the pour lively throughout the finish.
Overall: By using multiple styles of wine and thus multiple barriques before the final blending, Billy Walker makes a 9-year-old spirit taste closer to 15 without overoaking. The wine spruces up the barley’s inherently fruity character, elevating both. More than anything, it shows Walker’s mastery of wood management without losing the GlenAllachie spirit underneath.
Final Rating: 7.8
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary
8 | Excellent | Exceptional
7 | Great | Well above average
6 | Very Good | Better than average
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary
4 | Has promise but needs work
1-3 | Let’s have a conversation
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