The nose on this Tokyo-made Junmai is fresh and sharp, with notes of kaffir lime, cereal, green apple and watermelon pickle.
As an extra dry sake, I recommend serving chilled and enjoying the sake's evolution as it warms up to room temperature, which brings out the savory qualities and richer mouthfeel. Ideal for fatty, sweet-savory and rich cuisine, particularly in the cooler months of the year.
Stats:
- Brewery: Ozawa Shuzo
- Brand: Sawanoi
- Established: 1702
- Prefecture: Tokyo
- Rice: Akebono (Okayama), Akihikari
- Polish: 65%
- Starter method: Sokujo
- Water: Takamizuyama Mountain
- SMV: +10
Backstory:
Sawanoi's brewery is located deep inside the valleys along the western side of Tokyo prefecture. Accordingly, the heavily sloped land makes it impossible to drill a well vertically. Sawanoi's source for its water is a well that was drilled horizontally into the side of a mountain. The water sourced from this unique well generally takes 7-8 years to filter through the mountain rock.