Bunnahabhain 1968 39 YO cask #7020 (DT)

Bunnahabhain 1968 39 YO cask #7020 (DT), 40.5 %

Oooh, a release from independent bottler Duncan Taylor’s Rare Auld Series. That cannot be bad, can it? The Bunnahabhain 1968 39 YO cask #7020 was distilled July 1968, and bottled August 2007. The result was 171 bottles in total.

Nose: Sugar cubes soaked in camphor. Icing sugar and dusty old attics. Strawberry fields in the afternoon sun. Reminiscent of a very old and refined cognac. Delicate notes of grapes, caramel and distinguished age. Only the faintest hints of oak. With time a whiff of the Bunnahabhain bay - sea salt and the wild and beautiful coast of Islay.

Taste: Medium to full body. Certainly more oaky on the palate. But it still works. Hints of camphor now. White pepper. Green grass and fresh herbs.

Finish: Long finish. Not by far as rich as the nose suggested, which is too bad. It still holds a lot of flavor, but it is more elusive and fragile. Look too hard and it just disappears into thin air. It lingers though, if you are patient. You might think it is gone, then a sweet and fruity wave will appear and then sink back down again. Remains green throughout.

Comment: The nose is near perfect, the palate is a bit too fragile to get a full score though.

Score 90/100

Sláinte!
-Thomas