BUNNAHABHAIN 30 ans 1989 The Little Big Book Gordon & Macphail

Nose : fine, distinguished. With incredible finesse, the first nose is vanilla, herbaceous (cut hay), exotic (pineapple), candied (lemon, pear) and saline. Allowed to breathe, it becomes earthy, verdant (pasture) and salty (kelp, seaweed). With particular exuberance, the herbaceous register wavers between chamomile, verbena and sage. Increasingly jammy (pear, Mirabelle plum), the aromatic palette boasts radiant beauty. A hint of peat highlighted by wildflowers (daisy, dandelion, buttercup), gradually takes the reins.

Palate : lively, oily. The very creamy and vanilla attack is also fruity (plum, William’s pear). With very a pleasant vegetal freshness (nettle, juniper), it becomes increasingly spicy (ginger, grey pepper) and saline. The mid-palate stays close to barley, bringing a malting floor to mind. Acacia honey and cereal flavours pay witness to this fermentary evolution.

Overall : long, generous. With Calisson d’Aix and violet-flavoured sweets, the start of finish quickly becomes medicinal (camphoric) and spicy (ginger, gentian). Fruit then arrives with lots of conviction, including pear, pineapple, banana and walnut. The retro-nasal olfaction and empty glass are covered in the smoke rings of a very refined Havana cigar.