Review #349 - Glenmorangie Burgundy Wood Finish

Written By Me, My Wife & Whisky

Glenmorangie is known for their solid distillate and the wide variety of casks that they use for aging their whisky - their core range alone encompasses more than half a dozen cask types (ex-bourbon, sherry, port, Sauternes, Tokaji, and several more). Here's a bottle from an earlier time at distillery, a whisky discontinued before several rebrands: the Burgundy Wood Finish.

The distillery has also used a variety of wine casks in their huge assortment of releases - their head of distilling and whisky creation, Dr. Bill Lumsden, is quite familiar with wine cask finishing techniques. The French wine casks used for this whisky hailed from Cote D’Or in the Burgundy region, famous for its high quality wines, many of which are dry reds made from Pinot Noir grapes. There are also white wines produced in Burgundy, often made using Chardonnay grapes; based on the flavors we found in the whisky, though, we're guessing they used more of the red variety.

Glenmorangie Burgundy Wood Finish

Scotland/Highland - Single Malt

Current Locally Available Price: USD 95 (2024)

Age Statement: NAS

Strength: 43% ABV

Cask Makeup: Finished in ex-Burgundy wine casks

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 2 times over 2 months; bottles at 50% and 40% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes

Nose: Old school characterful malt with some softer wine influence, which grows with time - dark dried fruits and orange, maybe a bit of red grape and pomegranate later. Musty red wine appears at the end, and we also get barley sugar, clove, and vanilla, with just a hint of salt; the scents are quite soft overall, a more reserved nose.

Palate: Medium-thin, and orange is the most obvious flavor - orange wine and the fruit, as well as some bitterness stemming from white pepper and oak. Not as sweet as the nose, and the malty flavors have turned slightly sour; with more time, pomegranate returns, and we get a sweeter vanilla flavor. One-off flavors included nutmeg and... carrot.

Finish: Interesting, hints of salt and herbal notes, quite a bit of malty character. More oak influence in the finish, and there are baking notes of nutmeg, clove, and vanilla. Hints of orange and raisin added fruit, even some pomegranate juice; a bit subtle overall, not packed with flavor. The length of the finish is medium.

Final Note: This is fine - some interesting character, but it feels a little bit muted by the bottling strength. While there's no way to be sure, some chill filtration was likely used as well, which removes some of that oily texture we love to find in whisky; nice old malt flavors, but a softer experience.

Because this is a discontinued product, the only way to buy it now is from secondary sources - prices have risen a bit from the original retail values accordingly. Value is more mediocre now, but it's still interesting to taste a bit of Glenmorangie history.

Our Average Rating: 6.0 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 5.11

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.

Me, My Wife & Whisky
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