Did you know the current Emperor of Japan met his wife on a trip to the city of Karuizawa (軽井沢)? It’s a popular summer day-trip for people living in Tokyo who want to cool off in the mountains.

This 24 (or 23?) years old Karuizawa 1985 was bottled last year but in this part of the world it only showed up a few weeks ago. I ordered it right away from LMdW, where it sold out very quickly. 

Karuizawa 1985
(60,8%, OB 2009, cask #7017)

Nose: typical Japanese sherry influence. Bold and earthy with lots of gunpowder and fireworks. I’ve read ‘sulphur’ on different websites, but this is nothing like the dirty kind of sulphur that we sometimes discover in sherry casks. Really nice. Mushrooms (truffles?). After a while, more fruity notes come out (mainly blackberry and black cherries) with velvety vanilla, leather and tobacco. Hints of fresh tarmac. Extreme and archetypal. Mouth: very intense and thick. Smoky and earthy with hints of tobacco. Dark fruits. Savoury when water is added (meat, mushrooms) with herbs (mint, cardamom) but also more hints of fireworks. Finish: long, drying (slightly tannic) and leafy.

Huge is the right descriptor here. Big gunpowder notes throughout, but real fun to gradually add water and watch the flavours develop. Perfect example of the Karuizawa style. Around € 115.

Score: 89/100