1990 Samaroli Coilltean M. Carretta

Samaroli is perhaps Italy's most revered independent bottler of Scotch whisky. With an impeccable taste in single cask whiskies, and an eye for aesthetics (if not English spelling at times!), he is regarded by many as a visionary. Many of his bottles now occupy deserved sports on the pantheon of whisky greats

Coilltean was originally a label devised by Samaroli to give more variety to his portfolio after over-purchasing cask of Glen Garioch. By the early 2000s he was using many distilleries to bottle Coilltean, and now disclosing their names. These are some of the first releases to bear the contentious "refined in side the bottle since..." text, that the Scotch Whisky Association abhored, but Silvano full believed in.

This is a 1990 vintage Macallan, bottled from single cask #26008 in 2001. The cask was from the provate reserves of M. Carretta or Carretta Vini, a distributor based in Treviso since 1948.

It may be hard to imagine today, but for much of the 20th century, Macallan was primarily a constituent malt in blends. It was not until the 1980s downturn in the market that the distillery decided to focus on its single malt brand. Fortuitously, this coincided with the crest of a wave of enthusiasm for the high quality releases that the distillery had licensed to Campbell, Hope & King and Gordon & MacPhail in the 1960s and 1970s. These remain some of the most collectible on the market. While global single malt sales volume is still lead by Speyside neighbours, Glenfiddich and Glenlivet, Macallan is easily the most sought after. So much so in fact, that they had to open a brand new distillery in 2018, a subterranean architectural masterpiece within the Easter Elchies estate, boasting 36 copper pot stills.