The Hearach Of Château Biac

We chose to bottle this special expression of our spirit at 50% abv, which we believe enhances the flavour of this exceptional whisky to an even greater degree. 

The vibrant aromas and floral flavours are chimeric and intriguingly hard-to-pin down as they change within the glass.

|

"Initially, there’s a gentle mix of peat smoke with liquorice and sweet wine. Then comes summer notes of green leaves and ripe sweet tomatoes which dissolve into ripe pears with hints of dark plums and cherries. 

The fruit flavours become lighter, tropical with sweet lemon and a trace of lime. There are the florals of spring flowers with touches of jasmine and underlying it all a mixed spice and vanilla.

Finally, there’s a lovely finish of ripe fruit, new leather, and lingering peat smoke."

|

Enjoy with oatcakes, honey and roquefort cheese, some sweet lemon drizzle cake, or simply savour on its own.

We are proud to celebrate the many shared connections that bind our island to the wider world. One of these connections is to Tony and Youmna Asseily, the Lebanese family owners of a small vineyard called Château Biac in Langoiran, France.

In 2017, we were delighted to be introduced to Tony and Youmna through a mutual friend. We heard their wonderful story, learned about their stunning vineyard in Bordeaux, and discovered that Tony was a real lover of Scotland and its whisky. 

He told us he would love to fill some of his French oak casks, which had been used to vinify their sweet white wine, ‘Secret de Château Biac’, with our island spirit to see how it might mature and develop. 

So, we agreed to collaborate, and the result has been not just a true friendship between our two homes but a rare expression of our whisky and a dram we are all very proud of.

The Hearach of Château Biac single malt whisky is now a highly limited bottling of our Outer Hebridean spirit, fully matured in rare ex-sweet white wine casks, sourced exclusively from this special family of winemakers and unique to the Isle of Harris Distillery...

Situated on a plateau overlooking the Garonne river as it flows through the Graves plain, the story of the estate's land goes back to the times when the Romans brought vines with them to aquitaine and planted the first vineyards in the area around Biac. 

The château itself dates back to 1755, and by the end of the 19th century it enjoyed an excellent reputation for its vineyards, planted with vines sourced at Château d’Yquem for the white wines and from the finest wineries in Saint-Émilion for the red wines. 

Tony, Youmna and their children Yasmina, Gabriel, and Antonia became the vineyard’s new owners and “accidental” viticulturists in 2006 as they took on the challenge of restoring Château biac to its former glories while dividing their time between Beirut and London.

Their careful stewardship of the estate over the years has seen the Asseily family philosophy and a host of new ideas to re-establish the Biac name as a rising star of Bordeaux winemaking.

-

www.chateaubiac.com

Six 225 litre French oak barrels, each bound by 6 galvanised steel hoops, made their way from Bordeaux to Harris in 2018 and 2019 .

They were all made by the cooper of Tonnellerie Remond in Ladoix-Serrigny, and Tonnellerie Saury in Correze and once held their rare and delicious Secret de Château Biac sweet white wine.

This wine, made with Semillon and Sauvignon blanc grapes has notes of dried flowers, apricot, tobacco, and candied orange, with complex flavours reminiscent of coffee and amaretto.

Described by their team as  “the summer song of the vineyard” this very limited production also boasts delicious aromas reminiscent of soft breezes, balmy summer sunshine and wild flower meadows

Each drop is made with the utmost respect for the time honoured Bordeaux tradition of sweet wine making, the grapes picked meticulously one by one in the presence of the Noble Rot: Botrytis Cinerea.

-

Learn More About The Secret De Château Biac