Bunches of Bunnahabhain


February 15, 2017

Bunches of Bunnahabhain – part trois

We’re going on, calm and unruffled. But we shall try to add a bit of ‘disordered fashion’ today – which, granted, we never quite manage to do. B****y Descartes!

Bunnahabhain 1997/2015 'Lemon Buttered Kippers' (46%, Wemyss Malts, hogshead, 210 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: it’s a peater. Fresh, millimetric, smoky, ashy, inky. It’s a rather ‘narrow’ peatiness, but there's not a throwaway in this well-chiselled nose. Mouth: indeed, a rather easy peat, with some candied lemon and a touch of mustard over a rather grassy smokiness. Also sweeter grapefruits, but I’m not finding many buttered kippers. Not that we shall complain. Finish: medium, simple, pleasantly bitter/herbal. Comments: this feeling of grassy peat that’s to be found in some Bunnahabhains ‘Moines’. SGP:356 - 84 points.

Bunnahabhain 1990/2015 ‘Blowing on a Sea Breeze’ (46%, Wemyss Malts, hogshead, 209 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: much less smoke, rather a crystalline orchardiness, I’d say, involving greengages and gooseberries. Behind that, bits of hessian and a wee mentholy grassiness. And, perhaps and indeed, a little sea air and smoke. Mouth: exactly the same flavours as in the nose, which doesn’t always happen. Gooseberries with a little vanilla and green tea. Solid body. Finish: long and rather maltier, although the aftertaste would be grassier again. Touches of grass smoke. Comments: Bunnahabhain quite au naturel, with a pretty light peat and certainly without sherry. As if they had used an ex-peater cask. SGP:453 - 86 points.

Bunnahabhain 1990/2015 ‘Fields of Barley’ (46%, Wemyss Malts, hogshead, 278 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: gone is the smoke this time, this is rather full of Kellogg’s best and of various ripe western fruits, first pears and apples, then yellow and green plums. Notes of barnyard in the background, making it just a tad farmy. Very nice and very ‘natural’. Mouth: a very gentle Bunnahabhain, delicate and classy, all on sweet barley indeed, then melons and yellow peaches. Seriously, had I tried this baby blind, I’d have said Bruichladdich. Finish: medium, a tad more farmyardy. Farmhouse bread and peach jam. Comments: the gentlest side of Bunnahabhain, totally au naturel this time. SGP:551 - 86 points.

I know what you’re going to say, so much for a disordered session… It seems that one cannot change his own nature.

Bunnahabhain 1987/2015 ‘Sea Swept Barnacle’ (46%, Wemyss Malts, butt, 600 bottles)

You see, there is some form of creativity, since this is a sherried version… Colour: amber. Nose: starts all on cigars and dried fruits, with a mineral side far away in the back. Gets then seriously mineral, which I always enjoy. Flints, clay… And what I especially adore is the way it becomes earthy after twenty seconds, with a lot of garden peat (no smoke!) and humus/moss. And this metal polish… Mouth: the fruits are kicking in, figs, prunes, raisins… They do complement the notes of smoked fish, soy sauce, natural chocolate, tobacco, black tea… Then rather marmalade, marzipan, walnut wine… Finish: long and more herbal. Jägermeister and Chartreuse, just much drier. Seville oranges. Parsley and umami sauce in the aftertaste. Comments: extremely good, really. It’s almost hyper-fortified amontillado, in fact. SGP:462 - 89 points.

Good, no more good Wemyss, let’s find something else…

Bunnahabhain 42 yo 1973/2016 (47.9%, Signatory Vintage, refill sherry butt, cask #12145, 427 bottles)

I brought this little baby back from my latest visit at Edradour. Signatory have had some great Bunnies in he past… Colour: certainly refill indeed, since it’s golden. Nose: it’s the most floral Bunnahabhain since we started this little series. Lilac, lilies of the valley, roses… Then light all-flower honey, various aromatic herbs (wormwood?), then more raisins and dried plums. Sweet ham. I often write this, but it does remind me of some great old Sauternes. No, this time, it’s true ;-). Mouth: magic! Really punchy, with not one jota of fragility or over-oakiness, shock-full of earthy dried fruits (I’m think Turkish small figs), and becoming meatier, in a gracious way. No big beef, rather ham again. Ham and figs, did you know about this great combo? The strength is utterly adequate, you do not have to intellectualise it to enjoy it to the max – which sometimes happens with very old whiskies. Finish: medium, jammy, almost fresh, without any traces of any obvious woodiness. Rooty raisins and Saharan mint tea in the aftertaste. Comments: another coup by Signatory Vintage, bottled at just the right time. SGP:561 - 91 points.

Will there be a part quatre? And even cinq? Six? We’ll see, stay tuned…

Check the index of all Bunnahabhain I've tasted so far