Denshin Junmai Daiginjo Nama Natsuzake "Natsu"

Denshin Junmai Daiginjo Nama Natsuzake "Natsu"

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This year (2024) hits with notes of Hawaiian Red Fruit Punch, Melon Creamy Soda, nectarine, pandan, soft spring water, fresh orange juice, strawberry ice cream, and giant bowls of fruit salad (all the good fruits, nothing bad)... it's like being 9 years old, after soccer practice, a big rainbow popsicle in one hand and an ice-cold cup of fruit punch in the other. Not all the sweetness this description suggests, but the hints of it. You are an adult remembering this sweet memory fondly, grateful that the sugar levels are better matched to your adult palate!

...As always, Denshin hits with the very essence of Summer flavors here!

Tropical intensity and textural softness, a signature of Fukui prefecture, bowl you over on the first sip. Like Denshin's Spring release “Haru,” this Summer nama is powerful but also soft, almost creamy, like a pina colada. The intensity comes from being genshu (undiluted) while the softness comes from its high polishing level (55% of the grain has been polished away, 45% remains), super gentle filtration method (fukuro-tsuri, where fresh sake drips from 10L capacity hanging cloth bags), and Fukui’s famously soft water.


Ippongi Kubohonten Co. Ltd., 一本義久保本店
Location: Fukui, Japan
Grade: Junmai Daiginjo Muroka Nama Genshu
Rice polishing: 45%
Yeast: Proprietary(aromatic, ginjo style)
Rice: Koshinoshizuku (local, rare)
SMV: +3
Acidity: 1.3
ABV: 17%
Service: suited to ice, fizzy water, strong chill
Filtration: Fukuro-tsuri method, bag-drip filtration

Ippongi Kubohonten is based in Fukui prefecture, and it might be my favorite brewery for seasonal releases. Throughout the year, their interpretations of seasonal sake are creative, original, capture the essence of the seasonal mood, and are an excellent value for money. Fukui, in particular the Oku- Echigen agricultural region, is a pristine environment fed by a combination of alps runoff, heavy winter snow, and the proximity of the Japan Sea. Ippongi is Fukui’s #1 brewery, and Denshin is their premium label. Because of the abundance of local seafood, seafood pairings are implicit. For the abundance of agriculture, local rice is implicit as well. This sake is brewed with the rare, local variety Koshinoshizuku, which Ippongi contracts from local farmers. It’s the most fruity of the bunch, and it delivers overwhelmingly on that point: being “straight from the tank” at 17-18%, it’s richly concentrated with tropical flavor. The sake isn’t technically sweet (perhaps a gram or two higher than the rest in this lineup) but the character of the fruit is ultra-ripe, tender, and sweet because the water itself is so soft.