The annual release of the new addition to Glenmorangie’s Private Edition series is always a highlight of the whisky calendar, and 2019 sees the release of Glenmorangie Allta. This is the 10th anniversary of the Private Edition series and, like all the years and releases before it, Allta doesn’t fail to delight.
The Private Edition series is an opportunity to explore and enjoy Glenmorangie in a new light. Whilst each annual release is a limited edition that comes and goes, there is certainly fun, interest, and tastebud-pleasure to be derived as the whisky makers play around with Glenmorangie’s DNA.
Previous Private Edition releases have explored and experimented with unique maturation casks, or they’ve trialled unique varieties of barley. Each release never strays too far from the celebrated “house style” of Glenmorangie’s whiskies, but they certainly present Glenmorangie in a different light and offer unique aromas and flavours to the discerning whisky drinker. In the case of Allta (gaelic for “wild”), the twist is in the yeast. Bucking the convention of using a traditional distiller’s yeast, Allta was distilled from a wash (beer) that was brewed using a wild yeast that was sourced from the barley being grown near the distillery. (For those interested in the biology, the yeast was cultivated off some ears of Cadboll barley – best known for its use in producing Glenmorangie Signet – and is saccharomyces diaemath. The locally grown Cadboll barley was also used for the production of Allta).
It’s the sort of innovation and twist in production that many whisky enthusiasts have been calling for and anticipating. On the surface, there’s not an awful lot that Scottish distillers can play with in the exploration of flavour: The only three ingredients are barley, yeast, and water, and the spirit has to age in oak casks for at least three years. So the raw materials are reasonably set. Of course, the massive diversity in whisky’s flavour spectrum comes about through the many variations in still shapes and sizes, the condensers, brewing methods and distillation techniques, plus the myriad of different cask types used for maturation. But it would be fair to say that fermenting with different yeasts is the one piece of unchartered (or, rather, under-utilised) territory. The pursuit of consistency and yield has driven the industry to use a near-universal yeast strain that achieves both those objectives. However, as brewers and craft-beer drinkers will understand and appreciate, different yeasts can make a world of difference to the flavour and character of beer, and thus the field is ripe for distillers, should they wish to pursue new flavours.
On the question of yield, I spoke with Glenmorangie’s Dr Bill Lumsden, the man behind the whisky, and asked if using this wild yeast had resulted in a lower yield? Indeed, he advised that the yield was about 15% lower for the week’s worth of distillation in question. In truth, he was expecting an even lower outcome, so the final volumes produced were actually pleasing. But it’s possibly somewhat academic…in Bill’s words, “I’ll happily sacrifice yield for flavour!”
It’s not a new sentiment, either. In fact, I’d like to think Australia could even take some credit for this release? For it was way back in 2003 at the Australian Malt Whisky Convention in Canberra when a few of us asked Dr Bill (a guest speaker at the event) that very question: “Why aren’t distillers playing around with different yeasts to explore different flavours?” He explained that there were commercial realities at play, not to mention tradition, and the very fair and valid observation that “there’s nothing wrong with what we’re currently using.” It’s a good point: We rave about how delicious Scotland’s best whiskies can be, and yet it’s all been produced using a uniform yeast across the board. But, if our verbal urgings back in 2003 sowed any seeds, and if Allta is any indication, one suspects we may start to see more exploration with yeasts and fermentation in the years to come. Perhaps yeast will do for the industry in the 2020’s what finishing did for the industry in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s? You read it here first. 😉
The final thing to know about Glenmorangie Allta is how it was matured. Many of the great Glenmorangie releases – and Astar quickly comes to mind – utilise 1st Fill ex-bourbon casks. The majority of the previous Private Edition releases have utilised exotic casks and wood types, e.g. Super Tuscan wine barrels (Artein), virgin white oak casks (Ealanta), Clos de Tart casks (Companta), deeply toasted red wine casks (Milsean), Malmsey Madeira casks (Bacalta), and rye whisky casks (Spios). In contrast to all this, Allta was matured chiefly in 2nd-fill and refill casks, in order to prevent the wood from dominating. In a similar vein, Lumsden originally had a maturation target of 15 years, but after carefully monitoring and sampling the whisky’s development, he elected to bottle earlier than this so that the spirit’s fruity character would remain and not be overwhelmed by the oak.
So with all of this as background, how does Allta actually stack up? Whisky & Wisdom sat down with a dram….
Nose: An instant outburst of both savoury and sweet: There’s an instant hit of sweet fruits – raspberries and red currants – but balanced simultaneously with doughy pastry aromas. Fruit flan, anyone? Cereal notes emerge in the form of sweetened porridge, followed by sandalwood and perhaps huon pine. The signature Glenmorangie citrus is never too far away from the action. Returning to the nose after the first sip, there are strong biscuity notes, particularly shortbread and Arnott’s Scotch Fingers. It’s a nose for contemplation…there’s plenty here to keep you occupied.
Palate: Toasted barley, date slice, toffee (perhaps coated in dark chocolate?), and bread-and-butter pudding. It’s obviously on the sweeter side, but it never becomes cloying or overdone, and the balance is maintained by the input of pine nuts, oak, and a hint of grassiness.
Finish: There’s something fascinating about the finish – it’s got a “sparkle” in the tail; a savoury note that reminds me of chicken stock; and the slight bitterness of charred wood. Scorched almonds round out the mix. Even just a small sip leaves a seriously complex footprint.
Comments: Previous Private Edition releases have been bottled at 46%, and the Allta’s much higher ABV of 51.2% is immediately apparent (and welcome). As we’ve become accustomed to with the Glenmorangie Private Edition range, the Glenmorangie DNA is never far from the surface, but there’s some significant complexity and diversity in this to make it notably different to the flagship 10yo “Original”. Regardless of any fancy gaelic name or exotic yeast treatment, the simple question to ask is, “Is this delicious?”. The answer is a resounding “Yes”.
Cheers,
AD
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Whisky and Wisdom has covered and reported on other releases in the Glenmorangie range. You can read these, including our tasting notes and thoughts by clicking directly on the links below…
Glenmorangie – A Tale of Cake
Glenmorangie Companta
Glenmorangie The Taghta
Glenmorangie Tusail
Glenmorangie Milsean
Glenmorangie 1990 Grand Vintage Malt
Glenmorangie Bacalta
And to read all about Glenmorangie’s core-range and to learn more about the distillery, the link to Glenmorangie’s official website is here.
