Balvenie PortWood 21 is a Speyside malt in a velvet jacket, and it has the manners of a very old, very well-bred guest. This Balvenie PortWood 21 Year Old review is about a 40% malt that costs about £230, tastes of red berries, honey and vanilla with a floral lift, and is a silky, elegant and deeply mellow dram.
I like it a great deal. It is one of the most graceful whiskies I know, and the port finish adds a pleasant red-fruit sweetness without any fuss. It is a luxury, and I will be honest about what you pay for.
Balvenie sits in Dufftown and dates from 1892. It belongs to William Grant & Sons, and the Balvenie distillery still malts some of its own barley and runs its own cooperage, which is a rare luxury.
The PortWood 21 is matured for twenty-one years and finished in port pipes, and the UK bottling is at 40%, with a higher-strength version sold in travel retail. UK prices I found ran from about £221 to £255, and I use about £230. Cask finishes explained covers the technique, and the Balvenie 12 DoubleWood is the standard bottle to compare.
A bowl of summer berries drizzled with honey, a vanilla pod and a vase of cut flowers.
The nose is soft and fruity, with red berries, honey and vanilla, then a floral lift, a hint of spice and a gentle oak. It smells warm, mellow and beautifully balanced, with the port adding a quiet red-fruit sweetness.
On the palate it is soft and rounded, with red fruit, honey and spice, then a little vanilla, a hint of nuts and a polished oak. The 40% gives it a light to medium body, and the texture is silky and slightly creamy. Everything is in proportion, and nothing sticks out.
The finish is long and gentle, with oak, red fruit and a trace of honey. It is warm, clean and very satisfying, and it fades gracefully.
A few drops of water are not needed, though they bring out the floral side and soften the oak. It also gets sweeter as it sits, and the honey comes forward. At 40% there is little room for water, and a light hand is the right one.
Neat, in a good glass, in a quiet room, with no hurry. It is a very good after-dinner whisky and not one to mix. It is far too good for an Old Fashioned, and I would not want to see it near a Manhattan either.
It goes well with a ripe pear, a mild blue cheese and a long, unhurried evening. It is a very good gift for somebody who loves elegant, mature whisky and deserves a treat.
At about £230 it scores 83. Balvenie 12 DoubleWood scores 83 at about £48, the same score for £182 less. Glenfarclas 21 scores 84 at about £200, one point better for £30 less. Aberfeldy 21 scores 80 at about £180, and Aberlour 18 scores 81 at about £150.
So the PortWood 21 is a superb whisky at a luxury price. It ties the twelve for nearly five times the money, and the Glenfarclas 21 beats it by a point for £30 less. I would buy it as a present, and I would be honest that the value argument lies elsewhere.
A twenty-one-year-old whisky at 40% is a slightly awkward thing. The extra years bring depth and polish, and the low strength keeps the body light. The result is delicate and elegant, and it is also a little thin for the price.
I think the whisky is wonderful, and I think the strength is a missed opportunity. A few more points would give the finish more length and the texture more weight, and I would be happy to pay for that.
If you care about elegance, this is a very good bottle. If you care about value, the shelf has better trades.
There is also a practical point about how to drink it. A whisky this delicate is easily drowned, so I pour a small measure, let it sit for a few minutes and add nothing. Rushing it wastes the thing you paid for, and it rewards a slow evening far more than a quick one.
Four more bottles, from the better buys to the siblings.
The sherry-finished twelve-year-old that ties it for £182 less.
A rich, old-fashioned sherry malt that scores a point higher for £30 less.
A rounded, honeyed Highland malt that scores three points lower for £50 less.
A polished, sherry-touched Speyside malt that scores two points lower for £80 less.
Balvenie PortWood 21 is silky, floral, berry-sweet and elegant, a port-finished Speyside malt of real class. It is a superb bottle at a luxury price, and the Balvenie 12 DoubleWood is the better value.
Caskable score: 83 out of 100.
Red berries, honey, vanilla and a floral lift
Soft and rounded, with red fruit, honey, spice and gentle oak
Long and gentle, with oak, red fruit and a trace of honey
A silky, elegant, port-touched Speyside malt that is superb and priced like a luxury.
Thomas Grønvold is the founder of Caskable and a whisky enthusiast who believes the best way to learn about whisky is simply to drink it, compare it, and stay curious. From supermarket favourites to bottles from distilleries around the world, he writes about what he actually tastes and experiences, without pretending you need to be an expert to enjoy a good dram.
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