Macallan 1974 sherry cask 18 Years Old Bottled for Levert & Schudel Holland 43% 1974

Professional reviews

Serge Valentin (90)

Colour: amber. Nose: starts both fresher and fruitier than expected as well as less heavily sherried. It’s more flowery at first nosing, with heavy notes of peony mingling with tangerine liqueur and hints of old roses. Very elegant and very expressive, with a perfect balance. Whiffs of smoke. Gets then more classical with a little oak, raisins, orange marmalade, apricot cake… Also huge notes of ripe mirabelle plums, faint hints of ginger tonic and even grenadine syrup. And ripe strawberries, blackcurrant, prunes, a little toffee… Funny notes of black olives. Top notch.
Mouth: a beautifully dry attack, not as sweet and rounded as expected. Lots of tea, bitter caramel, balsamic vinegar… Rather powerful at 43%. Goes on with notes of cake, rum, Smyrna raisins… Not very complex in fact but beautifully compact and ‘crafted’. The raisins grow bigger by the minutes (so to speak). The finish is long, slightly bitter, dry and clean, with hints of calvados and a little salt. Classy stuff anyway.