Wine pairing: Marques de Riscal Rioja Reserva, Spain, 2021 (again)

The Drops of God is very much a wine fairy tale, that’s become absolutely clear. Each individual story is framed like a fairy tale, with everything but talking animals and sleeping princesses (and the Mizusawa Kaori arc practically had the latter). Thus the “tasting” imagery fits perfectly, as do the avalanche of coincidences. I think a lot of the appreciation for Kami no Shizuku comes down to perspective, and not just having an appreciation for wine. If you look for realism here you’re going to be disappointed, but I don’t think the writing is going for it.

First off, we return to Issei’s riddle. He pours Shizuku a glass of two Margaux – a ’70 and a ’78. Both were considered to be good vintages on the Left Bank, but there’s a starling gulf between the two wines. I don’t think anybody is going to actually see Cleopatra – living or mummified – after tasting any Margaux. But Shizuku gets what Issei is asking  of him – the sense that the ’70 is missing something. And that something is “man”, because this was a period when Chateau Margaux was poorly managed and even with all the terroir and weather in the world, what found the bottle was often found wanting.

True to his word, Tomine provides Shizuku the so-so ‘Gaux he needs – a 1975. He also asks what Shizuku thought when he saw those two bottles, and Shizuku’s answer seems to humble him (and this is not a humble man). Shizuku has half his puzzle, but the most important piece is still missing – what’s the 1975 Bordeaux from the lower ranks that can topple this paper tiger?  We’re faced with the usual needle in a haystack problem, though at least this time there’s no mystery about where the haystack is. Shinohara-san suggests talking to Robert Doi, who’s “tasted every wine their is”. But the old crank is none too keen to help – this problem is easy enough to be beneath him, and should be so for Shizuku too.

Doi is actually helping – he’s just too much of a dick to be straightforward about it. He sends the trio (Honma-san is tagging along) to the “Tokyo Wine School” (this actually seems to be the Academie du Vin in Aoyama) with a letter. That letter turns out to be volunteering their service as dishwashers, but the point is, they now get to taste a crap-ton of leftover wine (which is how many young’uns develop their palate, if they’re not germaphobes). In fact there’s a massive 70’s-90’s Bordeaux tasting going on (see “coincidences”) – 500 wines. But these are not the droid they’re looking for.

It’s good old Fujieda-san who saves the day again, offering Shizuku and Miyabi a taste of a 1975 Chateau Chasse-Spleen – a Cru Bourgeois ranked below the wines from the 1855 Classification. I admit I’d never heard of Chasse-Spleen before this, and in looking it up it seems to be a well-regarded wine, though not considered a classic or anything. Maybe good enough to beat a ’75 Margaux though – certainly good enough to fool Takasugi and his fellow wine Philistines. I’m sure I’ll never get to taste it but now I’m certainly curious.

Again, the specifics of the resolution are a weak link for me. Takasugi is just generally a pill, and the reason behind his brand obsession is rather cliched. But the real aim for him is Miyabi-chan, and he’s well aware that it’s game on now even if Shizuku is not. The latter may have won the battle but as for as the former is concerned, the real war is just getting started.