WELCOME TO THE CURRENT WHISKY OF THE MONTH
Lawrenny Heritage – December 2024
Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas is an international Gold-Medal winning whisky from one of the very few true farm to bottle distilleries in the world for a ridiculously festive price! Oh, and while you’re at it could you make that whisky a sherry bomb!
Regards, your favourite whisky lover!
And like magic the Single Malt Whisky Club delivers the Lawrenny Heritage! A single malt whisky “solera” matured in a harmony of Australian Apera and Spanish Sherry Casks (80% Pedro Ximenez & 20% Oloroso) which come from the exquisite Fernando De Castilla winery in Jerez Spain.
Bottled at 46.2% we are very happy to be able to offer our members this amazing, international gold-medal winning whisky at the superb price of $139 (that’s fully $20 less that at the Lawrenny Cellar door itself)!
Now there are few distilleries in the world – and I think only four in Australia (and now that I’ve put that in writing, I know someone will be along to correct me shortly) – that can truly claim their whisky to be a ‘paddock to bottle’ product. And Lawrenny is one of those alumni. Established in the 1800’s – Lawrenny Estate is first and foremost a working farm – which happens to now feed its own distillery.
The Lawrenny Heritage is a solera-aged whisky. Solera aging is a method traditionally used in the production of wines, particularly Spanish sherry, and has been adapted for spirits such as rum and whisky. It involves a tiered system of barrels (the tiers called criadera), where the oldest product is in the bottom criadera (known as the Solera criadera) and the youngest in the top. When liquid is drawn for bottling, only a portion is taken from the bottom tier, which is then replenished with liquid from the tier above, and so on up the system. This blending process ensures a consistent flavour profile, as older and younger liquids mix continuously over time, creating a harmonious and complex final product. The solera system doesn’t entirely empty any barrel, meaning some of the oldest liquid remains part of the blend indefinitely.
Here’s the lowdown on the ‘Heritage’ Solera system from Lawrenny Distiller, Jo Dinsmore:
Consisting of 8 x 250L 25 to 20 year old Spanish Sherry Barrels (80% Pedro Ximenez & 20% Oloroso) all of which come from the exquisite Fernando De Castilla winery in Jerez Spain. We filled the solera completely by vatting our 100L Apera and Sherry casks after they reached full maturity (5 to 6 years old on average). To ensure the solera systems benefits of consistency and flavour profile are preserved we operate it under strict conditions. These conditions mean that we never decant more than half the volume of the barrels and that we never take out more than what we are putting back in from freshly decanted stock. This way we are building flavour progressively as the vintage sherry casks used in the solera impart their rich profile over time.
The ‘Heritage’ Solera system at Lawrenny contains the distilleries oldest spirit in the mix. And due to the way the solera system works, the average age of the final criadera (called the solera) just keeps getting older each time it’s partially emptied and refilled with the tier above it.
OUR TASTING NOTES
Nose: Quite a big, immensely promising nose, sweet at first, but there’s a core of almost savoury-salty. There is (of course) big red fruits up front here, sweet notes of new leather and marzipany-nougarty-ness abound
Palate: Lovely and mouthcoating – an initial burst of umami proceeds a quickfire transformation into sweet fruit mince, plum pudding and biscuit spices, There’s a nice warm glow on the palate – but certainly no burn.
Finish: no rash changes of heart in the finish – that deliciously luscious palate just keeps on going. It’s chewy, and immensely satisfying as it rolls on and on… and on! with your whole mouth salivating like crazy in the afterglow!
This is superb whisky that hits all the notes it should and doesn’t miss a beat. As complex as you want to analyse it, yet as simple as just having a dram if you want it to be. It’s no wonder the judges in San Francisco gave it a gold at its first outing.
If you want to SUPER IMPRESS why not a pull out a spectacular 21 year old?
FROM LAWRENNY
A harmony of Australian Apera and Spanish Sherry casks filled with our new make spirit with its honey drizzled nectarine profile. This is more than just a “sherry bomb”, we take a lot of care to maintain a delicate balance between the juicy Pedro Ximenez and Apera casks to the dry nutty notes delivered by the Oloroso casks.
Our “Living” Solera process not only adds consistency batch to batch but also adds yet another layer to the profile of Heritage. The 2000L solera system is comprised of decades old PX and Oloroso casks which impart a final dollop of sherry complexity to the whisky as it passes through. This solera system contains the oldest whisky at Lawrenny and will continue to as we never let each barrel dip below half full.
Heritage doesn’t happen overnight; it is something that takes time and if done right is built on by each generation for the better. A philosophy we take to heart in every batch of Heritage Single Malt Whisky we craft.
ABOUT LAWRENNY
Lawrenny Estate is located in Tasmania’s Central Highlands, just over an hour’s picturesque drive through the Derwent Valley, northwest of Hobart.
The history of Lawrenny Estate is as rich as its fertile Derwent Valley paddocks and adjoining pristine waters of the River Derwent.
The story of Lawrenny commenced in the early as 1800’s, established by one of the most colourful characters in the history of Van Diemen’s Land, the colonial cattle tycoon, Lt. Edward Lord. At the time comprising of approximately 80,000 acres, Lawrenny Estate became renowned for farming premium cattle and sheep stocks as well as abundant fields of Wheat, Barley and Hops.
In 1991, the Mace Family took over the once majestic estate. Since purchasing Lawrenny, they have returned the property to its former glory of luscious gardens, fertile pastures and breading Black Angus beef cattle that are among the finest in the world.
Today, Lawrenny Estate is all about delivering to you the finest quality, premium Tasmanian produce.
Lawrenny. Uniquely Tasmanian.