Distilia Enmore (Versailles) Greenheart MEV 1985

The oldest and best of the three Versailles Greenhearts in my opinion. Very complex and well integrated alcohol. Lots of spice and sweetness. Lovely depth of flavours.

Got a great tasting with Distilia at my home , a lot of samples from caroni till port mourant and Distilia botlings , like pirate line greenheart, Versailles… Afther starting with pretty amazing caroni 1988 and 1994 , it was my first tast do caroni , my first impressions were a lot of wood , refined oak and bitterness, maybe some rubber but for my it could be a nice flawless whisky but very refined , Next we did this Enmore 1985 , oh my god what a difference, the smell by opening , so nice sweet en flowers fruit , pear and caramel , but so refined en so nice balanced , i taste a lot of whisky but this is another world , the depth of layers is just amazing , it’s like you may tast layer afther layer , never had something like this , afther we did a port mourant 97 and ist another league maybe ( wood , spices whisky) but we went back to this MeV bottling , just no words for it , so tin so balanced, layers of flavour . Amazing stuff , dispit caroni bottlings , sorry …

Very pretty nose, typical of Versailles. Big herbaceous notes of thyme and tea fill the nostrils with freshness, followed by notes of pencil shavings and resinous sap. The oak is discreet, while the spices show the tip of their nose with anise, licorice, pepper and smokier notes of incense. Citrus zest and prunes make way for medicinal notes ranging from beeswax to polish. A remarkably deep and complex nose. The attack on the palate is very pleasant. The oily, refined character blends well with the depth and complexity of the aromas. Flavors of aromatic herbs, tea, pencil shavings and tobacco appear on a more earthy, vegetal bent, followed by a profusion of spices ranging from licorice, anise, cloves, pepper and vanilla. Toasty oak goes hand in hand with leather, which lends a bit of bitterness with the herbs. Molasses, honey and caramel add a little sweetness to this subtle but very complex profile. The alcohol is very well integrated. The finish is rather delicate and refined, but lingers on the palate with herbaceous notes (thyme, tea), dried fruit (grape, apricot), pencil and tobacco notes, oak and caramelized notes leading to molasses. The spices are relatively mild, but tantalize the palate with rather seductive touches of honey, toast and salt. A superb antique Enmore, of which there must be very few left on earth.

On a par with the RA! Beautiful pencil note with round, balanced complexity at the same time!

89 points. I’m glad to have tasted this 36 year old rum. Versailles is always hit or miss in my book as I dislike the heavy herbal notes that some of them present. This one has those notes present but they don’t overpower the other notes as is the case with some Versailles bottlings. Tea, spices, wood and earthy notes stand out as well.