The Yamazaki Mizunara 2017 Edition Aged 18 Years

Style: Delicate and Composed

Rating: ☆ [Recommended]

Nose:

Beautifully sweet and fragrant aroma building up on the nose. Tropical fruits – especially passion fruits combines with sandalwood incense. Wood smoke glowing gently, throw in a few red chillies to give a good dryness. Vanilla flower and coconut shreds, glamourous nose.

Palate:

Sweet and slightly sour red fruits, a twist of hawthorn and Chinese bayberry infuse with a good chunk of milk chocolate. Roasted coffee beans, smoke from crackling wood at fireplace. Vanilla cream scaped gently over butter toast. Spices tingling gently, the fruity core cruises through till the end. Nice.

Finish:

Fruits strolling to the waxy side. Wood smoke lingers. Subtle caramel gradually emerges to finish.

Thoughts:

Splendid layering, comfortable presentation and flavours are beautifully articulated. The composure of Yamazaki is as majestic as always... Perhaps the older stock (or the lack of youngers ones) provides a silky, tranquil touch to it. On the other hand, maybe some will find the delivery of flavours slightly underwhelming, indeed, this tastes more like a 43% than a 48% to me. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful dram which is totally worth a try. Close to 2 stars.

[48% | 2017 Bottled | Original Bottling | Limited Edition | 5000 Bottles | Sample Tasting | *]

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