Lakefield, CO. LAOIS

In the lee of Bishopswood, once witness to the macabre spectacle of a bishop’s hanging, Lakefield Farm, east of Durrow, Co. Laois, stands on undulated lowlands farmed by the enigmatic Seamus Duggan – winner of our Barley Grower of the Year Trophy for his 2019 barley crop. Derived from limestone & sandstone these well-drained, deep loam soils of the Elton series consistently produce exceptional barley quality.

Appearance: Light gold with oils that grip & legs that slowly meander down the glass.

Nose: Warm custard, bread baking, red apple, milk chocolate, dried flowers, butter cream, pine needles. It reminds me of waiting to eat a rhubarb & apple tart fresh from the oven with custard & cream to hand.

Taste: A gentle clove to start that leads into proving bread & malted biscuits, in the middle a pepperiness that travels back my tongue then honeydew melon & pears.

Finish: It doesn’t, it meanders along like a tributary to the start of a great river.

It’s a windy, dry and warm Summer’s day at Lakefield. This track starts out in a barn at the entrance to the fields. A combine harvester sits waiting for its annual call-up as the wind rattles through the building. We head outside, where the wind blows down along the side of the barn, then we move down the lane towards the fields. We reach the hedgerows that run along the southerly edge of the fields, busy with birds, bees and butterflies before heading out into the barley. It’s a little more sheltered at first, until we reach the woods at the northerly edge of the field. The wind picks up again and blows through the barley and the trees, as further away can be heard the trains pushing through the countryside on the line to the north.