
May 24, 2016

A few Yamazing NAS, AU, and Vintages

Time to try more Japanese whiskies. It’s true that the disappearance of age statements and the massive price hikes (our friends seem to get more Scottish than the Scots with their whiskies these days) have kind of curbed our enthusiasm, as the good Larry Davis would have said. First, an apéritif…

Yamazaki ‘Sherry Cask 2009’ (48%, OB)

Yes, the ancestor of those insane newer batches that are fetching very high prices at auctions. Apparently, this very ‘2009’ now goes for around €1,800 a bottle. No age statements and one mad world. Colour: dark red amber. Nose: lets admit that this is pretty lovely, with a bag of dried fruits and marmalades, many raisins, and a blend of various tobaccos and precious woods, all that covered with touches of menthol and liquorice. Perhaps a little cellulosic varnish. Ultra-classic, a kind of polished, less ‘rustic’ Glenfarclas. Whiffs of old wine cellar. Honestly, this is a beautiful nose, a kind of JS Bach of the whisky world. Mouth: starts with marmalade on burnt cake, goes on with wheelbarrows of dried dates, keeps going on with notes of ruby Port, cherry liqueur and even Amarone, and gets then very raisiny. Corinths. Once again it’s highly polished, and at times you’d think you’re having some old oloroso ‘dulce’. The strength is perfect. Finish: long, rather tobacco-ish now, that is to say a little drier. Some cherry-flavoured marzipan in the aftertaste. Comments: what it is, is extremely good. What it’s not is moving and subtle. Or as they say in Scotland, ‘good not great’. Some oak is feeling a bit, as in many Japanese whiskies. I had tasted it at the MM Awards 2009 – 100% blind of course – didn’t write notes, but went for 83 points. I’ll be a little more generous this time, but remember this is no blind tasting. Probably one of the worst Q/P ratios out there ;-). SGP:651 - 84 points.

Good, let’s get serious…

Yamazaki ‘Age Unknown’ (43%, OB, 1989)

That’s right, the ancestor of the ancestors of the current NAS Yamazaki, since this baby was bottled in 1989 under the ruling of master blender Keizo Saji. Some sources in Japan state that the majority, if not the totality was distilled in the 1960s. Colour: deep amber. Nose: what’s in there, and that wasn’t quite in the ‘2009’, is complexity. In fact it is amazing, since it reminds me of the famed pre-war Macallans, such as the stunning 1938 ‘handwritten label’. Fantastic combination of honeydew, old Yquem, Cohibas, old plum wine, crème de menthe, chartreuse, chocolate liqueur (drops), honeysuckle, perhaps a little elderflower… No, a lot of elderflower. I know that’s an acquired taste, but I for one (and as an Alsatian) am all for it. Perfect nose, with a great deal of complexity. Sends the ‘2009’ back to school. Mouth: of sweet Vishnu! Starts magnificently, with the strongest chestnut honey blended with liquid caramel, and rather develops on some kind of fruitcake seasoned with aromatic herbs. Figs, star anise, a touch of cane sugar, dried bananas, apricots, old sweet Madeira, a little pipe tobacco, more honey, a bit of light fudge, soft liquorice… Really, it is amazingly complex, and it feels like more than 43%. Finish: long, rich, silky, doing the peacock’s tail for a long time. How many caudalies? Perhaps more than 100? In case you don’t know, which I doubt, a caudalie is one second. It’s a measure of how long any drink lasts on your palate once you’ve swallowed it. Comments: yeah sure, under these conditions and circumstances, you don’t need any age statement! SGP:661 - 94 points.

Yamazaki 2003/2014 (55%, OB, for the Whisky Shop, Spanish oak bota corta, cask #ADDY3038)

There, a proper vintage. Colour: mahogany. Nose: starts with this feeling of ‘sherried bourbon wood’ that’s sometimes to be seen in modern sherried malts, which suggests it was bespoke sherry-treated new oak. Now who would be against all these smoked prunes? Add burnt honey, Demerara sugar, actually old high-proof Demerara rum (Port Mourant), and orange peels and you’ve got… this. We’re far from the ‘Age Unknown’ as far as complexity is concerned, but it works. With water: soy sauce, tobacco, and lovage. Nice. Excuse me? Yes, and umami. Mouth (neat): some massive, oaky, slightly sour (tamarind, red currants) arrival, extremely thick and ‘extracted’, perhaps a little difficult. Huge bags of cloves and these tannins that are ‘sticking your tongue and your palate together’. This is extreme indeed, one could think of the wildest batches of Glenfarclas’ famous ‘105’. With water: what’s better is that it swims like a champ, becoming beautifully chocolaty and liquoricy. Bitter oranges. It’s not that it became ‘complex’, but it’s very fulfilling. Finish: long, balanced, on tobacco and chocolate. Thin mints in the aftertaste. Comments: I like it actually much better than the ‘Sherry 2009’, even if styles are similar. SGP:561 - 88 points.

A last rare one…

Yamazaki 1986/2009 'Owner's Cask' (51%, OB, Butt/Mizunara, cask #6B0021)

While thinking of Bert V. We had tried some sister casks five years ago, especially cask #6B0018 had been quite fantastic (WF 90) while #6G5020 had been even greater in my book (WF 91). Now what is ‘butt/mizunara’? Probably a butt made out of mizunara oak, unless only parts of the butt were in that Japanese oak a.k.a. Quercus mongolica (some staves, and/or the heads). Colour: full gold. Nose: it’s well know that Yamazaki loves mizunara – and conversely. No exception to the rule here, this is crisp, fresh, ‘resinously oaky’ in a great manner, with a wonderful herbal side, mint leaves, touches of chalk, and then, and I swear I’m not making this up, obvious notes of some of the most mineral rieslings. We’re talking Ste-Hune by Trimbach, for example. Das esch echt tip top! Now, it was a butt, but I don’t find any sherry. With water: superlative menthol and eucalyptus. Wandering throughout an small unknown island in the Mediterranean. Mouth (neat): one of these very sappy ones. Chartreuse, genepy, wormwood, verbena, all that. The freshness is impressive, and even if one feels that this baby’s pretty much oak-infused, all the oils and saps from the quercus mongolica manage to make it, or at least keep it perfectly fresh and elegant. Quite the opposite of American oak – not that I don’t like American oak, of course, but there. So, it’s great. Fresh almonds. With water: gets creamy and fruitier. Peaches in syrup, plus perhaps a little drying green oak? Not too sure, but careful with water, just a few drops will do. Finish: long, clean, with more citrus on top of all these sappy and mentholated notes. Comments: I’m usually not too fond of oak-driven spirits, but this time, I feel I have to bow my head before this butt that never saw any sherry (unless I’m wrong again). SGP:571 - 91 points.

(Merci beaucoup Phil, Ryan in Taiwan, and SImon!)

Check the index of all Japanese whiskies I've tasted so far