Karuizawa 1999 Artist #13 19 yo

 

 

 

60°

Distillery : Karuizawa - Japan

Sherry Butt 

Independent Bottling 

By La Maison du Whisky 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2018

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Slightly Peated

 

 

 

The Karuizawa distillery is now more of a myth than a real distillery. It was mothballed in 2000, closed 11 years later, and definitively dismantled in 2012. But rumours suggest that it will be back in operation in a few years' time, with different stills and different know-how, but on the same site. Since the closure, speculation has been rife about the few casks still in circulation. This one, which I was lucky enough to taste, is undoubtedly one of the last. It's true that this distillery has its particularities. The distillate came exclusively from Golden Promise barley, reputed to be the best variety, the production method was deliberately artisanal, with wooden Mash Tuns, and most of the casks used were Sherry casks from Spain. Hua Yang now has exclusive rights to the remaining Karuizawa casks, and they have entrusted this one to La Maison du Whisky. This whisky raises questions because it came out of the cask in 2018, but was not released for sale until 5 years later. There is certainly a problem of traceability here, but that does not detract from the fact that this is a rare and exceptional bottling - only 180 bottles came out of the cask, which was a premium Sherry Butt. It seems that the Karuizawa from the last period, just before closure, were slightly peaty, like this one, around 10-15 ppm I'd say, but that's still very approximate. Artist Wang Yung Chiu has adorned the label with his work Moon Jar Serenade IV.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

It's pure Karuizawa, an inimitable style, dates and dried figs, smoked leather, beetroot, artichoke heart, all matched by a slight minerality, but without iodine, rather basalt, burnt wood, quartz and slate. Dried meat, smoked Aosta ham, and a drop of blood orange, dark chocolate filled with liquorice, woodwax and forest berries. Oily earth, just ploughed. Almost as intense on the palate, the beetroot gives way to candied citrus fruits, Ratte potato du Touquet, butternut, blueberries and other red fruits, measured spices, cloves and nutmeg. A few wisps of salt. Long finish, not explosive but constant, long crescendo of coffee, dark chocolate, quinces, cherries in brandy, macerated almonds, with a very slight bitterness. A drop of tar with a cloud of milk.

 

In Short, 

I found it completely original, and monstrously well made, of course. This is my first Karuizawa, but it's so unlike anything I've tasted before that I'm sure it's totally typical of the distillery. It's a product of another dimension, of brilliant radicalism, to be explored without moderation. The price is far more dangerous than the bottle itself.

Score : 91  

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Arvo Pärt - My Heart's in the Highlands