2006 Wistaria Longpa Youle
Aug 25, 2016, 5.2g/85ml Novak pot
Really superb session, and hugely dynamic.
Slight whiff of jasmine and cedar on the dry leaf. Wash is light yellow colour, thick and soapy. This seems like young sheng but then the wet leaf is very earthy, and the liquor darkens to dark orange as the steeps progress.
The flavour is an extremely clear, a deepened, darkened version of the umami young sheng taste. There is a lot in common with gyokuro but less seaweed, less bitter, and more approachable taste. Moreish. No storage taste. Very little char contributing a tiny hint of smoke in the background. Very savoury and very active in the mouth from the beginning.
The intense savoury arrival leads to a beautiful sweet delayed aftertaste which is accompanied with a delayed floral aroma bomb. This sweet juicy aftertaste is one of the best I’ve experienced and it lasts quite a long time, several minutes coming and going. After steep 6 the floral aroma is completely gone. No more floral aroma. Like Mozart it was brilliant but died too young.
The articulation of the flavours in the mid-steeps was really great. Savoury arrival, brief bitterness, super sweet juicy followup, and then the whole mouth and head fill with a sweet floral aroma.
The mouthfeel is thick, oily and nice slick texture on the roof of mouth for the first 8-9 steeps and then tannins become more clear, but still lots of salivation.
Body effect:
Steep 3 there’s some heating in the lower back. Then in steep 5 I feel some cooling and gooebumps, contentment and calm. By steep 7 there is major heating happening, radiating heat out of my arms. But by steep 9, I am grinning like a fool, with feeling of contentment. Not euphoria but an intense contentment lasting for 45+minutes accompanied by continued savoury aftertastes.
The material looks great.
