Starward Pinot Noir Cask Yering Station
Sometimes collaborations like this are little more than marketing, but the extra 21 months in Yering Station pinot noir casks have made a real difference to this whisky, available at Duty-Free shops across Australia or from Yering Station directly. There’s an immediate oily herb, raspberry jam and sandalwood spice on the nose here that lets you know you’re not about to drink a standard Starward single malt. The integration and complexity are lovely. Pinot noir casks are hard to work with - single malt generally responds better to bigger and sweeter wine, but they seem to have found a lovely balance here. On the palate, roasted nuttiness reminds me of excellent sherry cask whisky, and there’s a subtlety here that pinot drinkers will appreciate with a chewy texture that’s a solid step above the other products in Starward's realm—one of the better pinot cask whiskies I’ve seen in Australia.
