Type
Mantensei Junmai Ginjo "Kinoko"
$34.00
No sales tax — Oregon
Rice
100% local Tamazakae from Chizu town
Flavor profileEach scale is our tasting-room read on where this bottle sits between two extremes — dry to sweet, light to full-bodied, soft to acidic, and subtle to aromatic. These are subjective, however, and will shift with food, serveware & temp.
DrySweetBone dry: crisp and clean, almost no perceptible sweetness. Everyone will read "5" as dry.
LightFullLight: lean and easy, mellow, has enough flavor and umami to give it character but generally really easy to drink. This is the most common weight for junmai ginjo/ginjo sake.
SoftAcidicVery soft: gentle and mellow, almost no perceptible acidity. A "1" sake isn't flat or boring, but is balanced around overall subtlety and softness, using other characteristics to give it structure.
SubtleAromaticModerate aroma: noticeable from the glass. Most often, moderate intensity aromas are either ginjo-ka (fruit, florals) or koshu-ka (nuts, mushroom, brown sugar).
Pairs with
For intentional food pairing, I recommend any savory bite that is moderately rich, fairly salty, with or without a bit of sweetness, but– and this is key– nothing too vinegary or sour. Salads didn’t work well, and most of the pickles I tried were also a flop. A mushroom nabe (hot pot) was– unsurprisingly– delicious; one of my favorite recipes ever, beef and burdock finished with okinawan brown sugar (Wellspent Market carries!) was an absolute slam dunk. I played off the bitter honey note one night with a radicchio salad tossed with romano cheese, fried breadcrumbs, parsley, and dressed with a very mild sherry and buckwheat honey vinaigrette– heaven. The sake is quite versatile to pair, but it’s like a Sercial madeira, a malty brown ale, or a cream Oloroso more than anything else: be mindful to play off the sweetness, umami and richness, and steer clear of anything too light. Sushi, sashimi, and light salads will struggle to keep up with it.
Mantensei Kinoko: perhaps the perfect autumnal sake. Kuramoto (brewery president) Touda-san is, like myself and so many others in Portland, a mushroom hunter and enthusiast. This is his homage to mushrooms: the seasons we hunt for them, the dishes we make with them, their beautiful flavors and aromas, and finally the fungus which is itself the beating heart of sake: koji– aspergillus oryzae
At room temperature, I taste sweet, spiced, and earthy notes: brown sugar, hay, buckwheat honey, wheat berries, nutmeg, black tea, graham cracker, cocoa, apricot, turned earth, and of course mushroom. At ~110F, the flavor becomes more pronounced and brings out slightly more sweet notes (more brown sugar and honey), while suppressing or transforming the bitter (cocoa becomes milk chocolate…buckwheat honey becomes honey). The acidity is moderate, however it comes across as soft because the texture is so velvety, weighty, and rich.
This sake has enough balance and flavor on its own to be enjoyable as a sipper, especially gently warmed (try 105-120F). However, all sake benefits from something salty, so if you do want to enjoy it with Netflix as opposed to dinner, consider at least a little dollop of miso or salty chips on the side.
Your case:
$30 flat-rate case shipping (up to 12 bottles) — the more you add, the less per bottle. Per federal requirements, an adult (21+) with photo ID must be present to receive the delivery.
Sake Club members: $20 shipping (up to 12 bottles) with your club bottles About the clubs
Specifications
Region: Chugoku
Class: Junmai Ginjo
Style: Koshu
Rice: 100% local Tamazakae from Chizu town
Rice-Polishing Ratio: 55%
ABV: 15%
Yeast: Kumamoto (Koro strain)
Size: 720ml
Shipping
Available nationwide to states and counties that permit alcohol. No sales tax (Oregon). Flat-rate case shipping; in-store pickup available.
Pick up in person
Shop open Tu–Sun. Order online and pick up at the shop — 107 SE Washington St. #121, Portland, Oregon.
