1997 Smith's Angaston 7 Year Old Malt Whisky (700ml)

This is the first of three vintages of this whisky so far produced at Yalumba (the others being 1998 & 2000) all of which are produced from barley malted in Tasmania and matured in French, American & Old Sherry Casks.

The primary distillation of the 1997 vintage yielded 5140 litres of low spirit at 34% a/v. The secondary distillation produced 131 litres of heads, 2010 litres of heart and 321 litres of tails (the heart being the finest component of the distillation.) After the arduous task of meticulously tasting and selecting individual components to produce a full flavoured whisky, the final blend contained 131 litres of heads, 2010 litres of heart and 163 litres of tails, 531 litres of local rainwater at 56.8% a/v.On 28th March, 1997 this base whisky was filled into 9 hogsheads, 4 old sherry, 2 one year old French, 2 one year old American and 1 new American. On 5 July 2004, the 7 year old whisky blend was assembled and broken down to a strength of 40% a/v. One old sherry hogshead showing particularly fine whisky characters has been reserved in the cellar for release in 2007 as a 10 year old whisky.

Tasting Notes: The colour is deep golden amber naturally leached out of the oak hogsheads. Aromatic spirit characters are exemplified by sweet estery fruit with hints of cedar oil and nutty, spice nuances. The palate is full and sweet with buttery chocolate and sherry flavours. The texture is rich and creamy. The finish is long with persistent toffee, honey flavours. 40%Alc./Vol.
- Tasting note sourced from David A. Zimmermann, Stillman.size>

Further Notes... "Medium gold colour; hay, toffee, vanilla nose; light and delicate palate with hints of vanilla, nuts and sweet finish; vaguely reminiscent of an unpeated Irish whiskey.
- Willie Simpson, Good Living (The Sydney Moring Herald), October 12, 2004size>

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