Umeshu Kishu Ume Koshu

Wakayama PGI Kishu Ume Koshu Umeshu

Chef sommelier Amandine Pastourel tasting notes are unequivocal:

. color is an intense old gold yellow with orange highlights.

. nose is intense, dominated by aromas of fruits in brandy, before evolving towards aromas of vanilla and woody notes. We can distinctly find the aromas of plum but also of white peach.

. attack in mouth is of a delicate sweetness, followed by a powerful mid-palate, marked by the aromas developed during the aging. Notes of plum ume impose themselves in the final.

. Kishu umekoshu can be enjoyed with good cheeses (Saint-Marcelin, Brillat Savarin, creamy goat cheese...) or at the end of a meal with chocolate or a good cigar. As an aperitif, it can be enjoyed with fresh spring water or sparkling water with fine bubbles.

Recommended serving temperature : 12-14°C

More : Wakayama Prefecture, located in the south-central part of the main island of Japan, produces the largest quantities of ume (Japanese apricot plum) in Japan.
It also has the majority of the manufacturers of umeboshi plums (salt-preserved plums) and umeshu (ume plum wine).
Ume plums cultivation in Wakayama Prefecture dates back to the Edo period.
If their production in Wakayama represents about 60% of the total production in Japan, this is due to the fact that around 1620, the Naotsugu Ando Lord, who ruled over the Kishu estate, exempted from taxes the lands which were not suitable for agriculture.
The inhabitants then developed ume orchards.
Ume plums are harvested from June to September.