Yamazaki’s Junshin to lead Bonhams auction this November

Auction house Bonhams has revealed it will debut the rare Yamazaki Junshin single malt whisky as part of an upcoming sale in November.

One of the only 200 bottles of Yamazaki Junshin privately released this year is set to be on sale at Bonhams Fine and Rare Wine & Whisky sale in Hong Kong on 18 November.

The Junshin, which means “pure” and “true” in Japanese, is marketed as Yamazaki’s special one-off single malt whisky and presented as a gift to pay tribute to globally-renowned master blender Richard Paterson, for his long years of dedication to Japanese whisky. The bottle was supposedly only available to Suntory’s VIP clients but is now going to the rostrum with an estimate of HK$250,000-300,000.

Formulated by Fukuyo Shinji, Suntory’s chief blender, the Junshin blends Mizunara malt, Spanish oak malt, and smoky malt aged for more than 20 years with super-long aged malt matured for more than 50 years in Japanese Mizunara casks.

The label, made with the traditional Echizen washi paper, features the word Junshin by famous calligrapher Takeda Souun and also marks the first time calligraphy has appeared on the label of a Yamazaki bottle. The terms “pure” and “true” were chosen to describe the whisky-makers’ pure intent for its craft.

Diego Lanza, Bonhams senior whisky specialist, said: “Presented as a splendid gift not meant for the secondary market, the Yamazaki Junshin comprises the rarest and oldest – up to 62 years old – vintages ever produced by the Yamazaki distillery, which is something usually only found in their best products, such as the Yamazaki 50-year-old and 55-year-old. It is fair to say that the Yamazaki Junshin is as rare as these trophy bottles. We therefore expect a lot of interest from global collectors, not only because this will be the very first time it is offered to the public, but also ahead of Yamazaki’s 100th anniversary next year.”

Besides, a selection of more than 140 bottles of Karuizawa whisky led by a complete 10 bottle-set of Karuizawa “Samurai” series; a single-owner whisky collection featuring a complete 36-bottle set of Karuizawa “36 Views of Mount Fuji”; five rare bottles of Karuizawa 1965-over-50-year-old “Streams of Time”; and a Karuizawa 1968 50-year-old “Aqua of Life”, is also set to be presented on the sale.

The Scotch whisky section is further amplified by The Macallan 55-Year-Old in Lalique, The Macallan 1951-Cask #1541/1542, and a Bowmore 1965 52 year old.

For the wines, the sale offers a good selection of Bourdeux first-growth and DRC, including 1947 Château Mouton Rothschild, 1989 Château Haut-Brion, 1953 Domaine de la Romanée -Conti, 1985 Domaine de la Romanée -Conti and 1990 Domaine de la Romanée -Conti.

The sale will be held on 18 November 2022 at Bonhams Hong Kong office.

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