Released in 2023, Le Girafe Chic 25 Years from Murray McDavid was quite a popular release in the Netherlands. (Although it didn’t quite sell out.) It’s a Westport. Which is a pseudonym for Glenmorangie. Officially a blended malt, but a single malt for all intents and purposes.
Teaspooned is the right term. Or as the back label says, “…whisky containing 99.9999% of a single malt from just one distillery in the Highlands of Scotland, that use tall still famous for their giraffe-like necks.”
Glenmorangie is a quite delicate spirit, while finishing in ex-wine casks generally doesn’t deliver a delicate finished product. Murray McDavid re-racked this whisky into French wine barriques from winemakers in Margaux, an appellation d’origine contrôlée within Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux.
It spent its final 2,5 years in these casks. Not a short finish, but neither a full secondary maturation.
Le Girafe Chic 25 Years (51.5%, Murray McDavid, 459 bts.)
Nose: Immediately very vinous, but that was to be expected. Slightly sour with a tinge of candied strawberries, mint, gentle raisins and a touch of sulphur. More honeyed after a little while, alongside cherry syrup and an assortment of floral notes. Finally a hint of milk chocolate and candied orange peel.
Taste: The mouthfeel is slightly sticky, which often happens with wine maturation. But the palate is also a nice mixture of wood spices (cloves for example) and fruits such as strawberry, blackcurrants and cherries. Also dark caramel, some Demerara sugar and mocha.
Finish: Long. Lingering jammy fruits, some bitter tannins and nuts.
Photo: Whisky Maniac
