The colour is (very) pale straw. On the nose aromas of green apples, white grapes, almond milk and rice pudding. In the mouth soft, with a taste of pears and bananas. The aftertaste has a slight bitterness and is long.
Sake is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran.
The outer layers of a grain of rice contain proteins, fats and lipids which, although good for eating, are bad for brewing because they produce off-flavours in the end product. To create a more refined and clean flavour, the outer layers are removed.
In the case of the more premium brews, the rice is milled to leave just little more than the centre of the grain: a nucleus packed with starch.
The ratio always refers to the bit that remains after polishing. In our case, the polishing ratio is 70%.
65% of the production of sake are regular sakes and have a higher than 70% polishing ratio.
Sakes with 70% or less polishing ratio are considered premium and called Junmai Honjozo (Junmai refer to the fact that no distilled alcohol was added).The two highest polished sakes are called Ginjo (60% or less) and Dai-ginjo (50% or less) and are referred to as super-premium sake.
While spending vacations in Dubai in November last year, I tasted a 40% polished sake. At my level of appreciation, I would not be able to tell the difference.
Despite the name, Japanese rice wine (sake) is produced by a brewing process more akin to that of beer, where starch is converted into sugars which ferment into alcohol. While most beers contain 3–9% alcohol, undiluted sake contains 18–20% alcohol.
The origin of sake is unclear. However, the method of fermenting rice into alcohol spread to Japan from China around 500 BC.
Traditionally, for sake there isn’t a notion of vintage. It is generally drunk within the year and if aged it does not vary significantly from year to year.
In Japan, sake is served chilled, at room temperature, or heated, depending on the preference of the drinker, the characteristics of the sake, and the season.
I bought this bottle produced in Mai 2021 at Ullrich Passion for Liquids in Zurich for 25.80 CHF.
Country: Japan
Region: Kyoto
Grapes: Rice
Type: White
Vintage: 2021
Producer: Kizakura
Price range: Medium (15-30 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 3/5