Bunnahabhain Moine 2013 Bordeux Wine Finish 'Feis Ile 2023'

Mòine is Scots Gaelic for peat, and it is Bunnahabhain's signal that this is the smoky side of the distillery. Most of what leaves the bay on Islay's north-east coast is unpeated, the island's gentle contrarian. But a portion of the spirit is made from heavily peated barley, and that is what fills this bottle: distilled in 2013 and finished in ex-Bordeaux red-wine casks, a pairing of Islay smoke and claret fruit that shouldn't work as well as it does.

This is a Fèis Ìle festival release, one of the limited bottlings the distillery puts out each year for Islay's whisky week. It is bottled at a robust 59.5%, uncoloured and non-chill-filtered, so both the peat and the wine cask arrive with real force.

The nose opens on lightly toasted oak and red fruit, deepening into dark fruit jam with a curl of dry smoke behind it. The palate is where the two halves meet: peat smoke and oak spice up front, then dark grapes, cocoa and a prickle of red chilli, with the wine cask lending a sweet-and-sour balance of ripe fruit and acidity. The finish is long and sweet, all red wine and over-ripe grape. At full strength it's fierce, so give it water and let it settle.

A whisky for people who think they've tried everything Islay has to offer. This one tends to surprise them.

How to Serve

In a Glencairn, with water. At 59.5% a good splash is your friend here, taming the heat and drawing the wine-cask fruit forward.

Where to Drink It

Black Rock in Shoreditch, built for smoky, cask-forward drams. Milroy's of Soho for its Islay depth. The American Bar at The Savoy, if you'd rather enjoy it somewhere grand.

Food Pairings

Try it with a rare grilled ribeye, where the smoke meets the char, or a plate of chorizo and aged cheese to play off the red-wine fruit.