Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Gradation: 46%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Wilson & Morgan
Average price: € 40.00
Official website: www.wilsonandmorgan.com
Vote: 86/100
Whiskies are like people. You can meet them of all ages, anonymous or endearing, pleasant or repelling. Every dram is an encounter, sometimes completely random, the outcome of which also depends on each of us.
Let’s see what impression we get from this young Bunnahabhain 6yo, distilled in 2014 and bottled in 2020 at 46% ABV by Italian Wilson & Morgan.
Coming from three butts, the 14010131/32/33, for a total of 2,322 bottles, it bears the words heavy peat prominently on the label. We had a review of a 2014 Bunnahabhain bottled by Wilson & Morgan has already appeared on the blog, but the ageing was 5 years.
Tasting notes
On the nose, hints of tar, burnt tyres and scorched wood initially dominate, with a robust spicy note of black pepper. But it doesn’t take long before notes of caramel, aniseed and wax are detected, along with a citrus fragrance reminiscent of grapefruit. A floral memory of oleander is accompanied, surprisingly, by an unmistakable scent of fresh lard. Just when it seems that the spectrum of perception is complete, there is a change: in terms of intensity, the smoke recedes and leaves room for unripe apple and pear.
On the palate, the opening is decidedly smoky and peppery, but even in this case you should not be fooled, because after a few moments, in the context of a soft and enveloping body, a hint of shortbread and coffee powder take centre stage, with a fleshy yellow apple close by.
The finish is really long, of smoke and pepper, with the yellow apple saying hi a little further on.
Multifaceted and unpredictable, this is a far more complex whisky than its years would suggest, distinguished more by a richness and aromatic dynamism than by the typical roughness of its youth, surprising at first and winning over in the long run.