Karuizawa Asama 1999/2000 46% 1999

Professional reviews

Serge Valentin (87)

Colour: gold.

Nose: a tad raw and winey at first nosing, with some kirsch, mushrooms, and some kind of rancio (reminds me of some Rivesaltes, which also gives it a cognacqy side). Other than that there’s quite some tobacco and cedar wood as well as walnuts. Old wooden wardrobe, charcoal...

Mouth: a lot of brown sugar and corn syrup at first sipping, then more fudge and toffee, with very nice notes of earl grey tea in the background. Perfect mouth feel. Goes on with a little orange and ginger liqueurs as well as touches of verbena (or rather the liqueur they make in Le Puy, called Verveine du Velay).

Finish: long, creamy, fresh, with both more oranges and more mint and even a little strawberry.

Comments: a kind of surprise, some could have thought they would have used casks that weren’t fit for bottling as single casks for this. Well, I think it’s excellent, both very drinkable and intriguingly complex. We’re far from the old dodgy OBs by the former owners.