Domaine des Hautes Glaces Episteme R18P23 Yellow Square Malted Rye Whisky

An impressive French whisky from Domaine des Hautes, this is one of two expressions of Episteme R18P23 that are almost twins. This is Yellow Square, the other is Yellow Circle. They're both made from 100% malted rye from the same variety of rye (the local caroasse), and processed using identical production techniques during the summer of 2019. 
The whisky is fermented for a long 140 hours (the tanks were inoculated with natural sourdough) and then double distilled in a 25-hectolitre pot still that is wood-fired before being matured twice, initially in Cognac casks and then in 'feuillette' casks, small barrels composed of staves of different varieties that have just 112-litre capacity.
Where they differ is micro-provenance. The idea was to create a whisky that would express terroir, so the only distinction is the plot where the rye was grown. For Yellow Square, the rye was grown at the foot of the Mont-Aiguille cliffs in a six-hectare plot cultivated by Christian Correard, where limestone scree fed by the run-off waters of the Vercors and their sediments.
 
Nose: Rye fields in full view. With Mont-Aiguille in the background like a regional totem. The nose suggests a direct, racy, fluid trajectory, a sober, solid architecture. Romane, in a way.
Mouth: We are presented with the very essence of the grain. This is an alchemist's whisky, because the original taste of rye in its purest essence flows through our glasses. Alchemy because the fire of distillation and the raw material from one of our parcel selections are present. A whisky, a map, a secret touch. This smooth, smoky, mysterious rye whisky takes us on a journey to the heights of openness and purity, which are nonetheless highly unique. 
Finish: Delicate is a style. A rye that's all ether, with dual feeling of lightness and intensity. And the elements: our plots, the fire of the stills, the coolness of our mountains, the waters of Cornillon: the nuanced strength of our spirits.