The Michel Couvreur Blossoming Auld Sherried is a wonderful sherried whisky that is bursting with character which is fitting because it comes from one heck of a character. The guys at K&L already did a great job of writing up his story so I’m just going to edit it down for length and let them tell you about what makes this whisky so special.
“The Blossoming Auld Sherry is a recreation of the legendary malt whiskies of the Victorian era. An era when sherry and Scotch were both kept on hand in the cellars of England and Scotland’s great estates and drawn for consumption as needed. Matured in one single butt of the freshest possible Montilla-Moriles casks, this whisky is redolent of that great wine of Jerez in a way that’s simply not available in modern bottlings. This ultra saturated butt from a solera started in the 1950s at Toro Albala is one of a kind.
Couvreur is the only producer able to buy from the venerable Bodega and they receive the choicest butts delivered still wet to the cellars in Burgundy. The cask was kept in medium humidity for the majority of its maturation before being moved to the wettest part of Couvreur’s cellar where extractive atmosphere is at a maximum. Age is inconsequential in terms of the quality here, but it is indeed older than all but the most expensive of Couveur’s offerings.”
Something else really cool about the The Michel Couvreur “Blossoming Auld Sherried” is how this Belgian born wine-broker-turned-scotch-producer gets his sherry casks. Casks which he stores in a cellar he created by carving it into a mountain.
“He set up camp in Beaune, ordered new-make spirit to be delivered by tanker, and drove down to Jerez himself; selecting his own sherry butts to insure only the finest quality casks for his contracted spirit.”
Now that’s dedication. On to the The Michel Couvreur Blossoming Auld Sherried review!
The Michel Couvreur Blossoming Auld Sherried Info
Region: France by the way of Scotland
Bottler: Michel Couvreur
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Sherry
Age: NAS
ABV: 45%
Price: $220
Michel Couvreur Blossoming Auld Sherried Review
EYE
Drying blood
NOSE
Heavy sherry sweetness, tart dark fruit, chocolate covered nuts, orange peels and light notes of baking spices, buttercream frosting, waxy fruit and ash. This is a dark, twisting and beautiful aroma.
PALATE
Chewy tart dark fruit, soft sweet malt, orange zest, baking spices, nuts and ash with light notes of buttercream frosting and a waxy grape underpinning. Tasty as can be with a depth and richness of character that’s as impressive as it is alluring.
FINISH
Long. Malt, dark honey, buttercream frosting and grape dark fruit.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Perfect, full round body and a heavy thick feel.
OVERALL
The Michel Couvreur Blossoming Auld Sherried is, in a word, awesome. It’s dark, rich and full in a way that reminds me of some of the best heavily sherried whiskies I’ve ever had. This whisky was tapping on the door of an A from the second I smelled it and I instantly fell in love. The palate followed suite and I ended up going through my entire sample in one evening.
If you’re looking for something that screams “quality sherried whisky” this is what you should reach for. Forget about farces like the Macallan Rare Cask and instead go for something genuine like this. The Michel Couvreur Blossoming Auld Sherried is a whisky with a compelling, true, story and character for days. Lovely stuff.
SCORE: 92/100 (A-)
