This limited edition 31-year-old single malt scotch matured for nine years in Bordeaux red wine casks

In the age of permanent portfolio expansions, annual experimental expressions and limited edition releases, the world of single malt scotch whisky is continuously complicated and its audience often divided. Since the introduction of Grand Cru in 2019, however, Glenfiddich’s Grand Series has been a north star in the market—a series of reliably exquisite age-statement releases that have tapped into the flavorful potential of unexpected casks from around the world. Today, Glenfiddich announced the latest in the highly awarded Grand Series, Grand Château, a boldly sophisticated 31-year-old single malt scotch that spent nine years maturing in Bordeaux red wine casks. This lengthy finishing process has produced a scotch whisky that’s both recognizably Glenfiddich, and yet unlike any other aficionados may have tasted before.

In advance of the release, COOL HUNTING ventured to Speyside, Scotland to sample the 47.6% ABV liquid for our annual September Scotch series. Inside the Glenfiddich distillery, alongside others in the Grand Series (including the aforementioned Grand Cru, the 26-year-old Grande Couronne and the 21-year-old Gran Reserva—though not the limited edition 29-year-old Grand Yozakura finished in rare ex-Awamori casks), we nosed and sipped a dram of Grand Château. The rich, reddish single malt’s initial aromas of almond and vanilla yielded to luscious cherries flavors, with a touch of apple and pear. A long finish then introduced baking spices to a toasted oak undercurrent. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the sensory experience felt full-bodied—much like certain tannic red wines.

Grand Château, ultimately, surprised and delighted—a signifier of the Grand Series, which has been architected from the beginning by Brian Kinsman, Glenfiddich’s Malt Master. Kinsman explains that releases in the series are born in two ways. “Occasionally,” he says, “there will be a very deliberate concept that we want to make a whisky for. At this age, 31 years old, however, it’s typical that everything is underway and it slowly morphs into the concept. It’s in play already.” 

There was substantial risk involved, putting a 22-year-old liquid into a series of Bordeaux barrels for nearly a decade. To this, Kinsman says that for his team, research and development is done through practice. “Grand Château is the result of building up this knowledge bank,” he says, “not just with me but with our technical team and the cooperage. We were doing Age of Discovery released matured in wine casks 15 or 20 years ago. We were bringing Malbec casks and trialing it. Over all these years, we’ve been maturing and finishing in different types of oak from different types of regions and figuring out what works and what doesn’t work. If you’ve got a big intense cask, like these from Bordeaux, you need a big intense whisky to cope with it—otherwise it gets crushed.” That’s why Kinsman started with the 22-year-old single malt.

Consumers often look to age statements for guidance. When asked what a 31-year-old single malt scotch means, Kinsman looks back upon his extensive tenure in the industry. “You never know if something is complete,” he says. “Would it have been even more amazing as a 34 year old? We don’t know. But it’s pretty amazing as a 31 year old. It’s our job to see when it feels right and this felt right. It’s 31 years old but it’s got a flavor profile that I don’t think anyone has tasted before—with this exact, deep maturity.” Kinsman hopes people appreciate it, but on an even more fundamental level he hopes that they don’t squirrel it away but rather open it and share it with people that they love.

To emphasize the artistry of the release, Glenfiddich partnered with beloved French artist André Saraiva for two limited edition Grand Château packages. One features a charming watercolor print on the inside of the box; the even more exclusive iteration (with only 24 bottles arriving to the US), entitled The Artist Edition, incorporates a traditional Toile de Jouy print accented with Saraiva’s signature motifs on the front.

Though the Grand Series deserves headlines, Kinsman refers back to the core collection when discussing the brand in 10 to 15 years time. “It will be exactly as it is today,” he says. “There are two parts to my role and two parts to the distillery. One is maintaining the history and the heritage and doing things right. Our expansion at the distillery is stunning and features beautiful architecture, but fundamentally it operates as it did 40 or 60 years ago. Complementing that, we will be doing even more unusual things around Grand range. The identity will be identical but it will evolve into something new.” And both sides of this assessment are worth eager anticipation.