VINTAGE/AGED

AGED SAKE CAN BE MADE FROM ANY CATEGORY AND AGED IN A VARIETY OF WAYS (NORMALLY IN GLASS BOTTLE) FOR A MINIMUM OF 3 YEARS.

yamabuki_gold

YAMABUKI GOLD

BREWERY: Kinmon Akita Sake Brewery
Established in 1939 (Akita Prefecture, Japan)
TYPE: Sake (Honjozo, Blended Vintage/Aged)
ABV: 14%
SIZE: 720ml / 300 ml / 100ml
RICE VARIETY: Chiyonishiki 50%, Toyonishiki 50%
POLISHING RATIO: 70%
INGREDIENTS: Rice, Koji (Malted Rice), Brewer's Alcohol
WHAT AN EXPERT SAYS: Lots of herbs, earth, mushroom and bold cooked peaches and cooked apple flavours, tea leaf, a touch short on the finish but would work beautifully with the correct food. Delicate meat dishes and light mushroom sauces. Lots of perfume and complexity on the nose and an aged earthy feel to the palate and finish.
COMPLEXITY: 7
UMAMI: 7
FOOD MATCHING: Red Meat and Game
yamabuki_1995

YAMABUKI 1995

BREWERY: Kinmon Akita Sake Brewery
Established in 1939 (Akita Prefecture, Japan)
TYPE: Sake (Honjozo, Blended Vintage/Aged)
ABV: 20.5%
SIZE: 720ml
RICE VARIETY: Chiyonishiki 50%, Toyonishiki 50%
POLISHING RATIO: 70%
INGREDIENTS: Rice, Koji (Malted Rice), Brewer's Alcohol
WHAT AN EXPERT SAYS: Mushroom and stewed peach, almost a rotten gooseberry element to the nose; more delicate and subtle given that it is a single vintage. Clean, fruity and with more depth. A touch of chili spice on the finish gives it elegance and complexity; earth and tea leaf. Long and pure… utterly superb.
COMPLEXITY: 9
UMAMI: 8
FOOD MATCHING: Red Meat And Game
Choseimai_25_years_1989

LIMITED EDITION CHOSEIMAI 1989

BREWERY: Kuze sake brewery
Established in 1786 (ishikawa prefecture, japan)
TYPE: Sake (Daiginjo, Vintage/Aged)
ABV: 17%
SIZE: 500ml
RICE VARIETY: Yamadanishiki
POLISHING RATIO: 40%
INGREDIENTS: Rice, Koji (Malted Rice), Brewer's Alcohol
WHAT AN EXPERT SAYS: Earth, mushroom and spice, with lots of pepper and chili on the finish. Delicate and pure, with plenty of sweet fruits, cooked fruits and elegance. Tea leaf and decaying leaves. A hint of chocolate even. You would never even believe that this has been aged for 25 years. It feels as fresh as a daisy. The finish really lingers.
COMPLEXITY: 7
UMAMI: 9
FOOD MATCHING: Meat, Game, Steak, Charcuterie
Choseimai_20_years_1993

LIMITED EDITION CHOSEIMAI 1993

BREWERY: Kuze Sake Brewery
Established in 1786 (Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan)
TYPE: Sake (Daiginjo, Vintage/Aged)
ABV: 17%
SIZE: 500ml
RICE VARIETY: Yamadanishiki
POLISHING RATIO: 40%
INGREDIENTS: Rice, Koji (Malted Rice), Brewer's Alcohol
WHAT AN EXPERT SAYS: Cleaner and fruitier. Very similar in flavor to the 1989 but not as bold. These sake’s are incredibly youthful but the earth and fruit flavor are more rounded here. There is a touch more sweetness to the palate and finish. The vintage variation is clear to see and very intriguing.
COMPLEXITY: 7
UMAMI: 8
FOOD MATCHING: Meat, Game, Steak, Charcuterie
Choseimai_10_years_2004

LIMITED EDITION CHOSEIMAI 2004

BREWERY: Kuze Sake Brewery
Established in 1786 (Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan)
TYPE: Sake (Daiginjo, Vintage/Aged)
ABV: 18%
SIZE: 500ml
RICE VARIETY: Yamadanishiki
POLISHING RATIO: 40%
INGREDIENTS: Rice, Koji (Malted Rice), Brewer's Alcohol
WHAT AN EXPERT SAYS: More nutty, hazelnuts and almond paste. Tomato and cooked plantain and banana. Not as intense, but with a bold sweetness. If it loses the puppy fat it will be excellent with more age but is loveable in itself already.
COMPLEXITY: 6
UMAMI: 7
FOOD MATCHING: Chicken, Fish, Vegetables
Junmai_Daikoshu_1995

TAKASAGO JUNMAI DAIKOSHU (1995)

BREWERY: Kanaya Sake Brewery
Established in 1869 (Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan)
TYPE: Sake (Junmai, Vintage/Aged)
ABV: 16.0%
SIZE: 720ML
RICE VARIETY: Gohyakumangoku
POLISHING RATIO: 60%
INGREDIENTS: Rice, Koji (Malted Rice)
WHAT AN EXPERT SAYS: More mineral and precise, with hints of earth, apple and pear. Some mushroom notes, and a spicy, peppery length. Perhaps not quite at the level of maturity of its siblings, but that gives it more versatility. It could be paired to a wide variety of dishes, from meat, to fish, to vegetables. The almonds rise up more on the finish, which lingers and is pleasant.
COMPLEXITY: 6
UMAMI: 7
FOOD MATCHING: Steak, Red Meat, Game, Charcuterie
Takara_Yourou

YAMAHAI HIZOSHU TAKARAYOUROU (1988)

BREWERY: Kanaya Sake Brewery
Established in 1869 (Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan)
TYPE: Sake (Honjozo, Vintage/Aged)
ABV: 19%
SIZE: 720ml
RICE VARIETY: Gohyakumangoku
POLISHING RATIO: 70%
INGREDIENTS: Rice, Koji (Malted Rice), Brewer's Alcohol
WHAT AN EXPERT SAYS: Intense nose of soy, white wine vinegar and lightly braised meat, mushroom and earth, with dead leaves and an almond note. Very complex, nutty and bold… slightly sweet and very intense. Lots of depth, and length. Needs food and preferably meat to really shine.
COMPLEXITY: 7
UMAMI: 9
FOOD MATCHING: Steak, Red Meat, Game
Yamahai_Kokoshu_1992

TAKASAGO YAMAHAI KOKOSHU (1992)

BREWERY: Kanaya Sake Brewery
Established in 1869 (Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan)
TYPE: Sake (Honjozo, Vintage/Aged)
ABV: 15.0%
SIZE: 720ml
RICE VARIETY: Gohyakumangoku
POLISHING RATIO: 70%
INGREDIENTS: Rice, Koji (Malted Rice), Brewer's Alcohol
WHAT AN EXPERT SAYS: Lifted and bold nose, mushroom and almond, meat and some banana. A touch fruitier with elegance and a subtlety; the finish lingers and shows promise, hints of soy and balsamic vinegar show that a good meat dish will allow this sake to shine.
COMPLEXITY: 7
UMAMI: 9
FOOD MATCHING: STEAK, RED MEAT, GAME
TAITEN SHIRAGIKU BITCHU KODENSYU VINTAGE

TAITEN SHIRAGIKU BITCHU KODENSHU VINTAGE

BREWERY: Shiragiku Sake Brewery
Established in 1886 (Okayama Prefecture, Japan)
TYPE: Sake (Junmai, Vintage/Aged)
ABV: 17%
SIZE: 300ml
Furudokei_500ml

KIJYO DAIKOSHU FURUDOKEI KIJYOSHU BLENDED 1972, 1973, 1974

BREWERY: Kamogawa Sake Brewery
Established in 1741 (Yamagata Prefecture, Japan)
TYPE: Sake (Kijyoshu, Vintage/Aged)
ABV: 16.0%
SIZE: 500ml / 300ml /180ml
RICE VARIETY: Sawa no hana
POLISHING RATIO: 65%
INGREDIENTS: Rice, Koji (Malted Rice)
WHAT AN EXPERT SAYS: Burnt onion, chocolate, lots of sweetness, bitter and intense with a real need for food and especially meat dishes. Versatile and would work with a lot of food stuffs. A touch of plum and burnt fat. Burnt leaves, burnt rosemary, dill and herbs, italian herbs, cinnamon in a coffee on the finish. The more you taste it the more you love it but it really needs food.
COMPLEXITY: 9
UMAMI: 9
FOOD MATCHING: Meat, Game, Foie Gras, Venison, Chicken, Chocolate Dessert