NV Ardbeg 21yo - 2016 Release (46%)

Nose: it is a though there are three levels of smokiness working in tandem: the layering is ridiculously well structured. The deepest notes are earthy rich with even a hint of unpicked tomato; the middle layer is flightier and spiced, seemingly in league with the gristier notes. And a third layer of phenols are sooty and wispy, like thin clouds scudding across on a windy day… amazing. Taste: the delivery by contrast is only two-toned. The malt, sans smoke, is gristy, lemon tinged and juices up with intense barley as the sugars strike home. But it is kept in check by the phenols which hit first with a combined weight, but then scatters about the palate until it reforms later on in liquorice and chocolate vogue. Finish: much more ethereal now, though we have moved more towards crystalline sugars only too willing to melt and discreet spices which occasionally nip. To say the finish is long is a little bit of an understatement. Balance: tap into Ardbeg with great care, like someone has done here, and there is no describing the beauty that can be unleashed. For much of the time the smoke performs in brilliant fashion somewhere between the ethereal and profound.