La Girafe Chic 1997/2026 - 28 y.o. - Margaux Wine + PX Sherry Casks - Murray McDavid

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 52.9% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

La Girafe Chic brings French Margaux wine and Spanish PX sherry influences to a light, aromatic Highland whisky. For the finish, Murray McDavid brought together whisky from one Margaux wine cask and one PX sherry cask from Bodegas Ximénez-Spínola. Maturation in American oak and these two cask influences shape this 28-year-old release in the Mission Gold range.

This blended malt is a so-called teaspooned whisky: almost all of it is a single malt from one Highland distillery, with a very small quantity of another malt added. The main distillery’s tall stills, reminiscent of giraffes’ necks, inspired the name La Girafe Chic and reflect the elegant, light character of its spirit.

The whisky was distilled in 1997 and bottled in 2026 as part of the autumn collection. Casks 1913367 and 2310072 yielded 573 bottles. Bottled at 52.9% alcohol in a 0.7-litre bottle, it is non-chill filtered and contains no added colouring.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: On the nose, caramel and baked berries mingle with the scent of vanilla pods.
• Palate: On the palate, chocolate and redcurrants meet rosewater.
• Finish: Floral notes and baked fruit linger on the finish, accompanied by oak spice and a dense, almost chewy mouthfeel.

Distillery/Bottler:

Murray McDavid was founded in 1994 by London wine merchants Mark Reynier and Simon Coughlin together with Gordon Wright of Springbank Distillery. Their wine expertise informed their cask selection: the independent bottler made its name early on by finishing whiskies in distinctive wine casks. Today, its home is at Coleburn Distillery in Speyside.

For its finishes, the team works directly with wine and spirits producers to source freshly emptied casks. In Coleburn’s traditional warehouses, it monitors the development of each cask and tailors further maturation to the individual whisky. Murray McDavid calls this interplay of spirit character, cask selection and ageing time The Art of Maturation.

Facts: