White Peak Wire Works Wine Series - Amarone Cask

@whitepeakwhisky's latest release is the first in their new Wine Series - an Amarone Cask finish.

I've a huge wine cask maturation fan, let's have a look...

Situated just South of the  Peak District, near the town of Ambergate, White Peak Distillery have been producing whisky since 2016

There latest release is an Amarone Cask finish:

"Over the last couple of years, we’ve curated a limited number of wine casks for both full and dual maturation. The casks have been selected to compliment our house style and are warehoused on site at our home at the Wire Works in Derbyshire. Over the coming months, we’re planning a staged release of three different wine cask finishes. We’re kicking off the Wire Works Wine Series with Amarone and, once we’re satisfied they’re ready, we’ll be following up with Madeira and Moscatel.

Wire Works Amarone, a  dual maturation of our core, lightly-peated spirit. Initially matured in first fill ex-bourbon barrels and then finished in fresh Amarone wine barriques; the result is a rich and fruity single malt whisky with a smoky backbone."

A couple of months ago I bought bottles of the Up'ards and Down'ards wine cask releases - similar casks matured in different parts of the warehouse - I loved them - review here! let's see how the Amarone shapes up!

Bottler info:

Amarone, a prized rich and fruity red wine from the Veneto region of northern Italy, is known for its unique Appassimento winemaking method. Grapes are naturally dried for approx. 120 days, rested in stainless vats, and finally aged in American or French oak barriques (or ‘tonneaux’) for at least 12 months.

The 16-month finish period for this whisky was set off in the depths of winter 2023. Initially a slow start and then, thanks to the first fill wine barriques, the flavours began to intensify over the summer. As the year progressed and temperatures cooled, the whisky mellowed and integrated beautifully. Skip forward to Spring 2024, and these casks showcase rich and powerful fruity notes, with bucket loads of chocolate and mellow spice. Coming very soon and a lovely start to an exciting journey through the Wire Works Wine Series.

Amarone Cask

Lightly Peated
Amarone Wine
Bottled at Cask Strength 54.1%
662 Bottles.

Tasting notes:

Nose: Blackcurrant cordial, milk chocolate, furniture polish, orange oil, fresh strawberries, candied ginger, wine gums.

Palate: Sultanas, liquorice, maraschino cherries, clove, cinnamon, cranberries, turkish delight.

Finish: Dark chocolate, icing sugar, strawberry laces, freshly roasted coffee.

My thoughts:

Appearance: light bronze in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, take some time to bead up and fall as slow thin legs.

Nose: dark chocolate, hedgerow berries, ginger spice and a lovely orange zest note. There's some cherries, a faint dunnage funk hint and some raspberry coulis.

Palate: thick sweet arrival turns immediately spicy and bitter. Very tannic and drying. The hedgerow berry notes are here - but they all seem a little artificial - like the dried stuff you get in  breakfast cereals. The dark chocolate from the nose is back with some cherries and bitter rhubarb.

Finish: long dry and spicy with some cherry notes.

Overall: I've been a fan of White Peak for a while, reasonably priced cask strength bottles which are very drinkable. This one disappointed me though,  'Amaro' is the Italian word for bitter and this one seems to have had too long a finish giving the whisky a bitter note. It's also VERY dry. Some people may enjoy it but I don't. back to the Down'ards for me.