THE Glenmorangie Company has unveiled a groundbreaking new whisky called Artein, the Gaelic word for ‘stone.’

The unique whisky is created from 15 and 21 year old Glenmorangie single malt whisky that has been extra matured in Italian ‘Super Tuscan’ wine casks, from the Tuscan hills.

Glenmorangie Artein is the third in the company’s award-winning one-release-a-year Private Edition range, already comprising Sonnalta PX and Finealta.

Sonnalta PX – which means generous in Gaelic – was hailed by world-leading whisky aficionado Jim Murray as "a mesmeric whisky," scoring 96.5/100 in 2012’s Jim Murray Whisky Bible.

Glenmorangie Artein is inspired by the stone from its own Highland water source – the Tarlogie Springs near its Tain distillery – which slowly adds minerals to give the whisky its complex and fruity aromas. It is described by the company’s renowned Head of Distilling and Whisky Creation Dr Bill Lumsden as a bouquet of ripe red berries, honeysuckle and fresh mint.

On the palate, sun-soaked baked fruits are said to come through before a lingering finish of zesty, lemon sherbet and a flourish of creamy cappuccino.

Dr Bill Lumsden is regarded as a pioneer in whisky extra maturation and said he felt a strong affinity with the innovative wine producers of Tuscany.

He explained: "Wine is one of my huge passions and I was fascinated by the role stony ground played in cultivating the vines – therefore influencing the flavour profile of the famous ‘Super-Tuscan’ wines.

"I was inspired to experiment with extra-maturing Glenmorangie in these wine casks and was thrilled with the result – a rich, outstandingly fragrant whisky – born of stone. Our previous Private Editions have won several awards and we have high hopes that this one will follow suit."

The Tuscan vineyards are built on stony foundations, which force the vines to delve deep into the soil for nourishment, so the grapes claim intense flavour from this unique terroir – hence the name ‘Super Tuscan.’ Super Tuscans are an unofficial category of wines, not recognised within the Italian wine classification system.

Bottled at a strength of 46 per cent ABV, Glenmorangie Artein costs £69.99 and will be available at specialist whisky shops in Scotland and globally from January 2012.