50,2°
Distillery : Bunnahabhain - Islay
Dark Sherry Cask
Independent Bottling
By Archives
Limited Edition
Single Cask
Bottled in 2013
Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength
Almost Unpeated
It was the Dutch website Whiskybase.com that launched the Archives range in 2011, when they opened their shop in Rotterdam. Since then, its success and reputation have never been denied. With over one hundred and twenty different bottlings, The Fishes of Samoa range features a different fish design from the archipelago on each label. Here, a Bunnahabhain aged for almost 26 years in a Dark Sherry cask. Only 233 bottles were produced. By the way, I'd love someone to explain to me what Dark Sherry is.
Let's Taste It :
Very round, very tasty sherry. Raspberry, pumpkin and a hint of iodine. Icing sugar. Blueberries, gooseberries. Grenadine. Ripe damsons. Hazelnuts, peanuts, cashew nuts. With a pinch of salt. By adding water, the sherry becomes deeper, spicier, earthier. Freshly waxed leather. Blackcurrant jelly, raisin pudding. A wisp of smoke. A splash of lemon water. A mouthful of blackberries, choking on them. Wine lees, heather earth. At the end it becomes leafy, laurel I'd say. Then it moves towards fermented fruits. On the palate, the wood stands out, a damp, spongy wood, with spices and vinous notes, muscat grapes and strawberries. Dark chocolate, hazelnut coffee. Very smooth, but long, persistent finish, bursting with red, even exotic fruits, cranberries, kumquat, prickly pear. Blood orange. Tannins. Dates on the tip of the tongue.
In Short,
I may sound over-enthusiastic, but I loved it. I find that old Bunnahabhain has a profile that marries beautifully with very rich sherry. Another magnificent success from the Archives range, and a good reason to be up to your neck in debt, since this expression has obviously been sold out for a long time, and prices on the secondary market are prohibitive.
Score : 92
To Be Listened While Sipping :
Camel - Lunar Sea
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