Sienna is the third expression of Macallan's 1824 Series, sitting between Amber below and Ruby above. Introduced in 2012 alongside the rest of the colour-graded range, it stepped into territory that had previously been occupied by older age-stated Sherry Oak bottlings, and is the first in the series to be presented at 43% rather than 40%.
The cask selection for Sienna leans more heavily on first-fill sherry-seasoned oak, with a higher proportion of European oak in the mix, and the colour — a deep amber-russet — reflects the longer or more intense sherry contact. As with the rest of the range, no caramel colouring is added; the natural shade is the whole point of the marketing exercise.
The nose opens with dark chocolate, dried orange peel and raisin, with vanilla and a faint clove note giving structure. The palate is properly Macallan in character — Christmas cake, fig, dark dried fruit, oak spice and a faint resinous undertow — and the slightly higher strength helps the flavours sit more confidently on the tongue. The finish is long, warm and drying, fading through raisin and toasted oak.
For drinkers who found Gold and Amber a touch slight, Sienna is the bottling at which the 1824 range starts to convince. It is not cheap, and the absence of an age statement remains a sore point for some loyalists, but the dram itself is a well-built sherried Speysider in the recognisable house style, with weight and structure enough to reward unhurried sipping. It is the bottling at which one stops mentally comparing the 1824 range to its discontinued age-stated forebears and starts simply tasting what is in the glass.
