Ledaig 2005 Signatory Vintage for LMDW 56,6%

This Ledaig 2005 bottling is an exclusive bottling by Signatory Vintage for LMDW.  was bottled in 2017 from a single sherry butt (#900155). Distilled at Tobermory and fully matured in sherry wood, it was bottled at cask strength with 648 bottles released, without chill filtration or colouring. Let’s go!

Colour: Orange, gold lights. Irregular heavy tears.

Nose: Explosive peaty profile. Intense smoke notes at first. Salmon, herring. Varnished wood, pit fire. More creamy with a few drops of water. Smoked pastéis de nata (just invented it). Yeasty, bready notes, close to some blanc de noirs Champagne expressions (but with an unmistakable salty/peaty side). Rich saline and meaty notes, bordering on high-end charcuterie, like Ibérico lomo.

Palate: Massive peat. If you’re not a peat geek, stay away from this. Still some fishy notes. Obvious smoked salmon aromas indeed. Citrusy shades with a tad of gasoline, almost as if this Ledaig were faking a Riesling grand cru profile (but that’s like hiding a bear behind a rabbit, you know). Exquisite.

Last Notes: Lingering briny/salty notes. A tad of waxiness. Intense old leather scents. Wild peat for sure, even with water. Back on the palate, no surprise: chimney aromas, heavy smoke. It ends on green olive tapenade, grapefruit juice, and vegetal mezcal shades. Last impressions of a weird (but pleasant) Paloma cocktail.

It goes everywhere, it’s massive, but it remains quite precise. That’s the signature of a great peated whisky in my tasting software. Hopefully I’ve got a few more cl of this one.

My very subjective note: 90/100