Ichinokura Jukuseishu Junmai Koshu (300ml)
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Well if this isn't a hidden gem...
Classic koshu notes of honey, beeswax, lanolin, sweet potato, mushroom, soy sauce, white miso, roasted chestnut, white raisin, smoked meats, and sesame, with a unique tart spin from the sake's uncharacteristically high acidity...a squeeze of fresh lemon. Very lightly sweet, but not at all a dessert sake. Just enough sweetness to balance the high acidity. Definitely appropriate for savory cuisine.
Unusually for sake, when this was originally brewed the intent was specifically to pair with a Miyagi regional specialty: beef tongue. But when they tasted the result, it was far too acidic, so the toji decided to age it rather than wasting the batch. After 3 years aging at ambient temperature the flavor had mellowed and integrated around the high acidity.
Ichinokura、一ノ蔵
Location: Oosaki, Miyagi prefecture
Rice: Toyonishiki from Miyagi
Polish: 85%,
Aging: 3 years at ambient temperatures
Acidity: 3.8
SMV: -11
Four Miyagi breweries- Asami Shoten, Kachiki Shuzoten, Sakurai Shuzoten, and Matsumoto Shuzoten- merged into Ichinokura (lit. one brewery) in 1973. Matsuyama, a town at the center of the Sendai Plain- Japan's farm belt- was chosen as the ideal location for the recently founded brewery. 90% of the rice they work with is grown locally, and an onsite well draws super soft water from 100m underground.
From their website: "In order to acquire fine-quality rice, we first began by securing growing contracts with local farmers, and, starting in 2004, we established our own in-house Agriculture Department to promote sustainable agriculture that minimizes our environmental impact and helps support local farmers through the cultivation of fine-quality rice. We are currently working on cultivating our own rice and we aim to develop a cultivation method for fine-quality rice best suited for sake brewing."
Miyagi is a land of abundance known for its high quality agriculture and livestock, and being situated along the Sanriku coastline, teeming with high quality seafood as well! At the core of Ichinokura's ethos is pride in this land, and they set out to brew sake that will be an ideal complement.
