Shichiken Furinbizan Junmai
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The snow melt from Mt. Kaikoma is filtered over 27 years through the mountains granite layers, then runs directly through Hakushu, where Shichiken pumps it up from a subterranean river to brew their sake.
On the nose I get cured lemon peel, green apple, muscat gummy candy and nectarine preserves. This brightness gives way to an impactful, rice-y, rich umami that spreads across the palette then softly fades. Notes of buttered whole grain toast, congee, and green almond come through stark on a sake that feels so soft on the tongue. It's a shapeshifter! Cold, room temp, or warm, you really can't go wrong.
Brewery: Yamanashi Meijo Co., Ltd., 山梨めいじょう
Est. 1750
Brand: Shichiken, 七賢
Location: Hakushu, Yamanashi
Grade: Junmai
Rice: Hitogokochi, Asahi no Yume
Polishing: 70%
Yeast: N/A
ABV 15%
Hakushu sits on the northern edge of Yamanashi prefecture, and shares a name with the famed water source also used for Suntory Hakushu whisky.
In 1750, Ikee Kitahara, an established sake brewer from Nagano, was taken by the soft, granite filtered waters that ran from the Japanese Alps' Mt. Kaikoma. He moved his operations to Hakushu in devotion of this pristine water source, and it has remained the cornerstone of the brewery's style ever since. Around 2018, brothers Ryogo and Tsushima Kitahara took over operations and leaned in even harder to Hakushu's locality. Prior to their generation, the brewery had run under the guild system, where seasonal contract toji and brewers came in and brewed in their own style. This stops with Ryogo, who took the title of toji at the young age of 30. The brothers don't shy away from the concept of terroir, owing the success and longevity of the family operation to Hakushu's water.