By Serve Valentin
Batch 014 : Whisky de France Single Malt – La Piautre Single Cask :
La Piautre 13 yo 2017/2021 (47%, Dumangin & Fils, France, ratafia champenois finish, batch 014, 345 bottles) – 4 stars
La Piautre are brewers in Maine-et-Loire, near the city of Angers, and have started making whisky too a few years ago. To me this is a first. As for Dumangin, we’ve already tried some very good Craigellachie, Bushmills and Cooley grain, all finished in ratafia casks by them. Colour: full gold. Nose: summer-season Comté cheese, proper Gruyère, Fribourg, or any such very awesome cheeses in their fruitiest versions. A little gunpowder too, metal polish, then sultanas and figs to calm this down, just before a floral side would appear, with gorse, dandelions, and just wisteria and jasmine. I would happily mention hops too but that could be just because I know this is a brewer’s whisky. Gets extremely floral after five minutes. Mouth: no cheese this time, rather many roasted nuts, a little burnt cake and bread, plus a little sour yoghurt, with bits of oranges. What we sometimes call ‘Greek yoghurt’. Ends up very dry and somewhat amontillado-y. Finish: long, on some kind of spiced marmalade and indeed, dry sherry or even Madeira. A little mustard in the aftertaste, as well as very green walnuts, bordering bitterness. . Comments: great fun here. I suppose I now have to try to put my hands on some ‘La Piautre’ whisky.
SGP:451 – 85 points.
