Juyondai and Next5

Drinking at Stag in Kikakyushu.

1957 Blandy’s Bual – nice and savory on the palate, kinda like Shaoxing (紹興酒) that has had salted plum (話梅) soaked in it. Only medium sweet since it’s Bual.

The Strathconon 12 Years Old – apparently this was from the 1970s and 1980s, and are no longer made today. Wasai-san had to peel off some Scotch tape he used to seal up the bottle to slow down the evaporation. This was certainly smoother and milder, and I could kinda taste the effect of age on it. A little sweet and grassy on the palate, but not too much.

Drinking at Shuho (酒峰) in Fukuoka.

Next Five Hyouge Mono 2018 Kimoto Junmai Daiginjo (生酛 純米大吟醸) – I had seen others post about Next Five, but this was my first opportunity to try it. This particular bottling was apparently done as a collaboration with a manga (漫画).  Seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 45%. Very smooth and soft, with a sweet attack but a bit dry mid-palate. Sweet nose with a little banana. Nice depth on the palate.

Juyondai Junmai Daiginjo Tobingakoi Shichitare Nijikkan Ryugetsu (十四代 純米大吟醸 斗瓶囲い 七垂二十貫 龍月), 23BY – seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 40%. Pretty smooth. Sweet on the nose but not on the palate.

Juyondai Junmai Daiginjo Tobingakoi Shichitare Nijikkan Ryugetsu (十四代 純米大吟醸 斗瓶囲い 七垂二十貫 龍月), 24BY – seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 40%. Bigger nose, with more fermented notes.

Juyondai Junmai Daiginjo Tobingakoi Shichitare Nijikkan Ryugetsu (十四代 純米大吟醸 斗瓶囲い 七垂二十貫 龍月), 25BY – seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 40%. Nose was a little sharp with starchy notes.

Jyuyondai Nakatori Daiginjo (十四代 中取り 大吟醸), 25BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%. More complex nose with banana notes. Pretty smooth but still got some depth on the palate.

Jyuyondai Nakatori Daiginjo (十四代 中取り 大吟醸), 26BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%. Even sharper on the nose. Smooth and sweet on the attack, and generally nice and rounded on the palate.

Jyuyondai Nakatori Daiginjo (十四代 中取り 大吟醸), 27BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%. Very big nose, and this was more “typical” and classic in terms of Juyondai.

Jyuyondai Nakatori Daiginjo (十四代 中取り 大吟醸), 28BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%. More powerful and complex nose. Very smooth. A little sweet on the attack but dry in the middle.

Jyuyondai Nakatori Daiginjo (十四代 中取り 大吟醸), 29BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%. Fragrant nose with banana notes. Very smooth and light. Very clean.

Full post on the evening is here.

2005 Te Koko

Drinking at home.

2005 Cloudy Bay Te Koko - still plenty of flint, green apple, not overly oxidized and just a little honey.  There is ripeness on the palate and some sweetness, but the acidity is still there.

More crazy sake in Tokyo

Drinks at Tamanegiya (酒たまねぎや) in Tokyo.

Miinokotobuki Miyabi Selection No. 1 Nakatori Junmai Daiginjo (三井の寿 中取り純米大吟醸), 30BY – seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 40%. Lots of banana in the nose, and showed fermented flavors a little later.

Azumaichi Junmai Daiginjo Tobintori Show Selection (東一 純米大吟醸 斗瓶取り 選抜酒), 27BY – seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 39%. More elegant, a little more pure. Sweet attack followed immediately by a big, strong, and spicy palate while the nose was soft and elegant.

Hatsukame Show Selection (初亀鑑評会), 30BY – apparently this changed to being a junmai daiginjo (純米大吟醸) last year. Master took 34 of the 36 bottles made. More acetone in the nose, with a hint of sharpness. Slightly sweet on the palate.

Isojiman Nakatori Junmai Daiginjo 35 (磯自慢 中取り 純米大吟醸35), 26BY – seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%. Tons of fruity notes like banana and musk melon in the nose. Lovely and really sweet and smooth on the palate.

Isojiman Daiginjo 28 Nobilemente (磯自慢 大吟醸 ノビルメンテ 28), 30BY - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 28%. More intense nose, more depth on the palate. Nose also showed sweetness and banana, but a little sharper, and seemed more complex.

Selosse Le out du Clos

Lunch at Sushi Saito in Tokyo.

Jacques Selosse Le Bout du Clos, dégorgée à 2 mars 2018 – really nice, mature and smooth, minerality with some savory notes. Definitely tasted like a blanc de noirs.

Full post on lunch is here.

Juyondai Shichitare Nijikkan

Dinner at Tenkai.

Juyondai Shichitare Nijikkan Junmai Daiginjo (十四代 七垂二十貫 純米大吟醸), 29BY, from isshobin - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 40%.  Nice and smooth, soft and sweet, a bit dry and spicy on the back, more spicy than expected.  A really well-made sake with lots of depth and length.

Full post on dinner is here.

59 Ducru and 82 Montrose

Dinner at a friend's home.

2015 Yann Durieux Love and Pif - toasty, flinty, a little fizzy.  Not bad la...

1959 Ducru-Beaucaillou, negociant bottling - definitely nicely aged, with a nice and fragrant nose with cedar and mint notes.

1982 Montrose -  slightly corked.  Smoky nose.  Finally opened up after almost 3 hours later, and showed nice coffee notes which overpowered the cardboard notes.  More smoky notes later.

1999 Sine Qua Non The Ox - pretty fragrant.  A little floral, with nice, sweet fruit on the nose.  Slightly sweet on the palate, and soft and elegant on the palate now.

82 Ducru and friends

Dinner at The Sports Club.

2010 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Clavoillon - very ripe, nice and fragrant, sweet Chinese licorice.

2010 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Gouttes d'Or - reasonably ripe but the acidity was higher.  More flinty.

2004 Comte Armand Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux - eucalyptus, leather, animal notes.  Fragrant but still lean on the palate.

2009 Il Marroneto Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie - really ripe, really sweet nose, with minty notes.

1982 Ducru-Beaucaillou, en magnum - Decanted for almost two hours prior to serving.  Smoky, still some sweet fruit, minty, and woodsy fragrance.  Drinking beautifully.

Swiss wine day

Tasting at Lavaux Vinorama.

2017 Jacques et Aurelia Joly Lavaux Pinot Gris - very floral, beautiful, just like an Alsatian pinot gris.  Notes of stone fruits like peaches, tropical, flinty.

2018 Robert et Vincent Chevalley Rivaz Sauvignon - more flint here, leaner on the nose, but interestingly ripe and rounded on the palate.

2018 Jean-Marc Favez Chardonne Viognier - really floral and perfumed, ripe and sweet on the nose, with some sweetness on the palate but also a bit of flint and stone fruit.

2016 Pinguet St-Saphorin - a blend of 70% pinot noir, 20% diolinoir, and 10% mara.  Fruity but a bit more heavy and firm, with a little potpourri.

2016 Béat-Louis Bujard Villa Novara - a blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and syrah.  Sweet nose like bubblegum, with lots of sweet sugar and very exotic.  Unfortunately the palate was just so-so and light.

Lunch at Là-Haut in Chardonne.

2016 Gantenbein Chardonnay - decanted prior to serving.  Very big nose of toast, more ripe and mature, more buttery, more coffee, and more open and flamboyant. Very delicious.

2015 Coche-Dury Meursault - initially very restrained, showing toasty notes and lots of flint.  Thirty-minutes after decanting the toasty notes got much stronger, but the palate also remained lean with higher acidity.  This was obviously more complex, with lemon citrus notes.  One hour after decanting this became more elegant.

Dinner at a friend's home.

2005 Cheval Blanc - decanted for 1½ hours prior to serving.  Pungent and very bretty, a little dirty, smoky.  Lots of concentration here, with decent amount of fruit underneath the smoke.

Full post on the day is here.