Bunnahabhain Moine Bordeaux Red wine Cask Matured

16 July 2018

A new addition to the limited edition Bunnahabhain family: Moìne Bordeaux Red Wine Cask Matured, that’s a mouth full. As you already know by now: Moìne means peat in Gaelic, so this is an expression from peated malt, that has matured on Bordeaux casks for a little less than 10 years.

As a fan of Bunna, I immediately picked one up. With Moìne Oloroso as one of my all time favourites, so I was excited to taste a red wine version. The Moìne Brandy Finish from last year was a bit heavy on the peat-side, it takes some time in your glass to fully reveal the Brandy flavours. Let’s see if this is also the case for this Red Wine matured bad boy:

Tasting notes

Colour

A nice deep red colour reveals the red wine casks involved.

Nose

There are lots of notes I haven’t smelled before in any other Bunna, first thing that comes in mind is sweet BBQ-sauce, wet wood smoke and an underlying layer of sour fruits, grapes and redcurrants, dry red wine and freshly impregnated wood. The sour fruity taste makes it different, it even reminds me of the sour worms candy (hope you know them)

Palate

The palate is drying and warm and contains a thick layer of barbecue smoke, supported by red berries and a spicy oaky sweetness. A bit peaty at first, but a tea spoon of water reveals the more fruity flavours, which also helps the finish.

Finish

Glaced charred meat, straight from the bbq is forming the finish, sweetly developing into dry fruits and dry red wine with a sulfurous ending. More fruits after adding water, charred oak and a long whiff of peat smoke. The finish reminds me of dark marmalade on toast on the edge of being burnt.

Overall: needs some time and water to reveal its fruity red wine flavours through the heavy layer of smoke. But it’s definitely worth it.

I compared it with a glass of Kilchoman Red Wine Cask Matured, which is fruitier and less peaty, but also less punchy and with of course totally different base recipe of heather and pear, which is totally Kilchoman. The Bunnahabhain is perhaps a bit too sulfurous, but not in a very wrong way. Imagine yourself on a hot day, with a smoking barbecue with huge chunks of glaced meat, sipping a glass of robust red wine. That’s basically what’s in this glass, cheers!