Ben Nevis 19 Years Old good vibes 50.5% 1996

Professional reviews

Serge Valentin (90)

This series is called ‘good vibes’, I don’t think Peter Tosh would have disapproved.

Colour: straw.

Nose: oh perfect! A mineral fruitiness, with peaches and hot limestone in the heart of summer (yes I speak with experience), then aspirin tablets, lamp oil, cantaloupes, a little seal blubber, and a lot of grapefruits. Wonderful style, not seen anywhere else. With water: wonderful farmy development. Hay, farmyard, grains… And a trace of suntan lotion.

Mouth (neat): exceptional! Tell me about a hidden gem… Stunning peachy fruits, tangerines, pink bananas, cranberries… This fruitiness is totally glorious. With water: indeed, indeed. It’s not that it’s a surprise, especially given the bottlers, but still, it is a surprise.

Finish: medium, fresh, fruity. Blood oranges.

Comments: I knew it ‘could’ be excellent, but this excellent?! In the same cluster as Clynelish and Pulteney (when Pulteney’s not killed by wood)