Oldest Macallan bottling could sell for US$125,000 at auction

A bottle of the oldest Macallan expression to date – a 72-year-old single malt bottled in a Lalique crystal decanter – is expected to sell for between US$100,000 and US$125,000 at auction.

The Macallan 72-year-old features an accompanying stopper and wooden presentation case

The Macallan 72 Years Old in Lalique – The Genesis Decanter was released last year to celebrate the opening of the new £140m Macallan distillery and visitor centre in June 2019.

A bottle of the 72-year-old whisky will go under the hammer at Skinner Auctioneers’ Fine Wine and Rare Spirits online auction this month. The auction is held from 18-27 June.

Produced in 1946, the expression has an “exquisite balance of strong, sweet oak with the peaty spirit shaping its refined character”. The nose is said to have aromas of fruit followed by hints of peat, with a “lingering hint of rich fruit and oak” on the finish.

The bottle design has been inspired by the curvature of the distillery’s roof structure, which is said to be suggestive of the building rising and falling from the ground.

The presentation case is inspired by the interior of the distillery, with a curved wooden roof over the decanter and a footprint taken directly from the circular layout of the three new still houses.

Limited to 600 decanters worldwide, the rare whisky has sold for as high as US$12,000 a dram, according to Skinner Auctioneers.

The Fine Wine and Rare Spirits auction will also offer a 43-year-old, 1964 White Bowmore estimated at US$10,000-US$12,000; a 44-year-old, 1964 Gold Bowmore estimated at US$12,000-US$15,000; and a collection of rare Bourbon and rye bottles from the Prohibition and pre-Prohibition eras.

In October last year, a bottle of The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 60-year-old Scotch whisky set a new world record after selling for £848,750 (US$1.1m) at a Bonhams auction in Edinburgh.