The
discussion of terroir is gaining credence
in the Wonderful World of Whiskey. Until recently, that was a term reserved for
wine. Loosely defined terroir is the whole of a microenvironment, meaning
everything from the climate to the soil to the amount and angle of sunlight an
area experiences are taken into account.
The Waterford Distillery of Waterford, Ireland, was established in 2015 by Mark
Reynier. The distillery is all about terroir.
“Unashamedly influenced by the world’s greatest winemakers, we obsessively bring the same intellectual drive, methodology and rigour to barley – the very source of malt whisky’s complex flavour.
Extolling a hundred exclusive farms of Irish-grown barley, we search for natural flavours via three paths: our Single Farm Origins pursue the individualism of terroir-derived flavour; our Arcadian Series expresses the intensity of flavour from alternative philosophies and long-forgotten varieties; whilst our Cuvées revel in the ultimate sophistication, where the whole is greater than the sum.” – Waterford Distillery
One
of the things I respect about any distillery is when they go above and beyond on
transparency. Several distilleries will tell you what you need to know. A
handful will tell you things that never crossed your mind. Waterford is part of
that handful.
Today I’m exploring The Cuvée from Waterford. It is a single malt Irish whiskey (or, as it spells it, whisky – something unusual for the Irish) distilled from a blend of 36% Irina, 19% Taberna, 32% Overture, and 13% Propino barleys. The newmake aged for 4.5 years in various cooperages, including first-fill American, virgin American, French oak, and proprietary Vin Doux natural casks before married and packaged at 50% ABV (100°). If you head over to its website, it spells out every barrel used in the making of The Cuvée. You should be able to acquire a 750ml bottle for about $75.00 - with one caveat: Waterford Distillery is now under receivership, so it could be very difficult to find anything.
A friend provided me with a sample of The Cuvée so that I could
#DrinkCurious and provide a review. Let’s
get to it.
Appearance: Poured
neat in my Glencairn glass, The Cuvée presented as brilliant gold, forming a
medium ring that released slow, wavy legs.
Nose: Green
apple and apricot were the first smells to hit my nostrils. That was followed by lemon zest,
honey, and floral malt notes. When I drew the air into my mouth, a wave of
honey and vanilla rolled across my tongue.
Palate: I found the mouthfeel to be oily and
full-bodied, featuring honey, green apple, malt, and strawberry on the front of
my palate. The middle offered nuts with both grapefruit and lemon zests, while the back
had French oak, clove, and ginger root flavors.
Finish: French
oak, barrel char, lemon curd, and white pepper created a long finish that
sizzled my hard palate.
Bottle, Bar, or Bust: This whiskey is atypical of your average
Irish. To begin with, I found The Cuvée somewhat young, likely attributed to
both its age and the virgin cooperage elements. I even tried tossing a square
of dark chocolate in my mouth to see if things would mellow out. The flavors
were bold and uncompromising. It was an exciting pour for sure, but I wouldn’t
spend the $75.00 asking price, not without some added years in oak. I recommend
trying this one at a Bar first and ensuring
this is your jam before committing to a bottle. Cheers!
My Simple, Easy to
Understand Rating System
- Bottle = Buy It
- Bar = Try It
- Bust = Leave It
Whiskeyfellow encourages
you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit but begs you do so responsibly.
It appears to me Waterford focused more on producing terroir driven whisky over and above delivering a great tasting dram drinkers would fall in love with.
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