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Macallan 1950 - Gordon & MacPhail - Handwritten Label

LOT ID: 0823-363


End Date : Oct 18 2023 08:00 PM


Total Bids: 32   

Final Bid
£4,900.00


LOT DESCRIPTION

Macallan 1950. Handwritten Label. Bottled early 1980s under license by Gordon & MacPhail. 75cl. 43%. In wooden presentation box.

A wonderful old Macallan 1950 vintage bottled by Gordon & MacPhail around the turn of the 1980s. Several versions of this ‘Handwritten Label’ edition were originally bottled by or for the distillery’s licensed partners including Atkinson, Baldwin & Co. and Matthew Clark in the UK and distributors in France, Germany, Italy and Australia. The distillery subsequently took all official bottlings in-house soon after these vintage bottlings appeared.

The 1950 Macallan is equally impressive as the 1938 but with more delicate oils and softer fruit complexities and metallic notes in place of the earlier phenolic styles. These older Macallans are not being produced anymore and as the years go by they seem to be getting thinner and thinner in auction.

CONDITION

Stained label.

FILLING LEVEL

Into Neck

Distillery:  Macallan

Distillery Status:  Working

Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail

Region: Speyside

Distilled Year: 1950

Bottling Year: Early 1980s

Limited Edition: yes

Category: Single Malt

Country: Scotland

Bottle Size: 75cl / 750ml

ABV: 43%

The grandest of Speyside’s blue chip distilleries, Macallan was founded in 1824 and carved a reputation for luxury single malt whisky in the 1980s with string of 18-year-old and 25-year-old sherry-matured vintage single malts distilled in the 1960s and 1970s, building on the renown of earlier highly-regarded licensed bottlings by Gordon & MacPhail and Campbell, Hope and King.

In the early 2000s, as the supply and quality of even the best sherry casks declined dramatically, Macallan introduced their Fine Oak series, an initially controversial range of bottlings that included bourbon-matured spirit in the cask recipe. While the Fine Oak series took some time to find its audience, Macallan’s status as the top Speyside distillery - particularly at auction - was already well-established and today a legion of eager Macallan fans ensure that each new luxury bottling from the distillery sells out immediately on release.

Founded in Elgin as a merchant grocer and wine and spirits wholesaler in 1895, Gordon & MacPhail are one of the oldest independent whisky bottlers in Scotland. Co-founder James Gordon owned shares in Longmorn, Strathisla and Glen Grant, and Gordon & MacPhail were soon bottling officially licensed single malts from several distilleries and sending empty casks from their wine business to be filled with new make spirit and returned for maturation in their Elgin warehouses.

Gordon & MacPhail pioneered high strength single malts at 100 proof (57%) in the 1950s, and in 1968 the company launched Connoisseurs Choice, one of the first integrated ranges of small batch independent whisky bottlings. After finally becoming distillers themselves with the purchase of Benromach in 1993, in 2010 Gordon & MacPhail bottled the first 70-year-old single malt whisky (a Mortlach 1938) and in 2020 the company released the first ever 80-year-old whisky: Glenlivet 1940.

DISCLAIMER

Although a condition report is normally included in the Lot description, we do recommend viewing/close inspection prior to placing any bids. If this is not an option and you have questions beyond the offered description and images, please use the form below "Ask A Question" to make specific enquiries or to receive a more in-depth condition report. Otherwise, Lots will be sold as seen and described.
Please note: due to the various ages of bottles, corks and their seals, condition of liquid is at the buyer's discretion. And no claim can be lodged against failure/leakage in transit.All bottles are checked by our whisky specialists Wayne & Harrison Ormerod prior to any auction. We do not auction opened bottles so therefore all items are sealed unless stated under certain circumstances where seals were never issued by the producer.
No item is deemed new, however many items are generally in good condition. When this is not the case, we aim to mention any faults in the description. The images supplied are of the actual item you will receive. If the filling level of the liquid is not visible in the images provided, we aim to indicate the current position in the description. If the filling level is impossible to determine, such as with ceramics decanters, we will provide an overall weight of the decanter in KG. Our filling level guideline can be found here.
All information in this listing is provided to the best of our knowledge including when we chose to date the age of a bottle. If you are unhappy with the listing or believe there is an error/discrepancy, you should notify us immediately and we will address the Lot accordingly. Placing a bid confirms you have checked the Lot and are satisfied.

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BID HISTORY

BID DATE TIME
Last Bids £4,900.00 18th October 2023 19:32