Bruichladdich Port Charlotte PC6 Cuairt-Beatha 61.6% 2001

Professional reviews

Serge Valentin (88)

Here’s the brand new Port Charlotte! We’ll also have a glass of the PC5 at hand so that we can compare both. Colour: straw (the PC5 is rather pale gold, that is to say darker). Nose: it’s obviously the same make, except that the PC6 is straighter at first nosing, more directly on smoke and less on pears and kirsch.

But then I detect something fruitier (apricots, very ripe melons) and a rather distinct vinosity, but I wouldn’t say this is ‘winey’. Whiffs of peonies, clean wine barrel, then warm butter and mashed potatoes, hot cake... More towards pastries than the PC5, with maybe a little less smoke. Gets more demonstrative with time, more ‘raw’ (wool, ‘clean’ manure, porridge, new leather, soaked grain). Other than that it’s close to the PC5, with just these added faint winey hints that may (or may not, I have no info at hand) come from time spent in good wine casks. But it certainly doesn’t smell like wine-finished whisky as such. With water: now it got much nicer than the PC5. Indeed, it’s straighter, all on peat and whiffs of a farmyard in a hot summer day, and without a single winey notes left. The hints of mint and curry that we got in the PC5 disappeared as well. Very, very ‘Islay’, and an excellent swimmer it seems. Mouth (neat): again, starts cleaner and better balanced than the PC5 as well as rather more peppery and spicy and, again, less kirschy. But it does need water... So, with water: still powerful and, again, cleaner than the PC5 (I’m not meaning the latter was dirty of course). More fresh fruits (butter pears) and a perfect peatiness, with also notes of ginger tonic and gentian spirit. Very, very good, maybe marginally closer to the Islays from the south shore than the PC5, that is. And indeed, no winey notes on the palate. Finish: long, peaty, fruity, very clean, with notes of plum spirit. Rating? I’d say two points above the PC5, which means 88 points.


09/29/2007 - Added comments – I just learned that this PC6 was partly matured in Madeira casks. Well, all I can say is that it worked well and that it was only relatively obvious to me on the nose that some 'not too vinous' wine was involved ihere. At least we’ve got the answer now .

BOW (88)