The third release from Lochlea’s seasonal bottling series. The Fallow Edition (First Crop) has been matured entirely in ex-Oloroso sherry butts, made with barley grown on the Lochlea farm, free from chill-filtration and at natural colour, bottled at 46% abv.
Appearance: Copper. A substantial tide mark quickly forms and morphs into many thick legs.
Nose: Blackcurrant Lemsip, very ‘new makey’ berry notes. As the glass matures notes of fig, forest fruits, sweet spices and buttered toast.
There’s an undercurrent of faint sulphur, but it never amounts to anything, luckily.
Palate: Cherry cough sweets, cracked black pepper, the new make berry and burnt buttery toast.
There’s a good chest warming and some cloying.
A certain jammy element is consistent throughout the palate.
The palate is ‘ok’, but there’s no real balance of flavours.
Finish: Medium in length. Slight black pepper, bitterness and some berry sweetness.
Overall: Hmmm, I’m a tad disappointed, unfortunately. It tastes very young and the palate is a bit of a confused blackcurrant mess.
