Those of you who haven't heard of tonight sake would be wise to take note. This is Gassan from Yoshida Shuzo 吉田酒造 located in the picturesque town of Yasugi in rural Shimane prefecture. Already one of the most interesting prefectures in Japan for sake, in my humble opinion of course, this is yet another example of a kura making truly exceptional, character laden sake from this multifaceted region.

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Luckily for me, after a chance encounter with one of the brewers in my local bar in Okayama, me and a friend were invited up this summer to visit the kura. After we received a tour of their wonderful facilities, the Toji and that same brewer treated us to an incredible tasting of their entire lineup. My favourite sake on that day was their Houjun Karakuchi Junmai, an ever increasingly popular style that roughly translates as rich, mellow and dry.

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Needless to say, I was delighted to receive a bottle in the post from that same kind brewer this week of the Shibori-tate version that has just been pressed. And as much as I loved the pasteurised version, this unplugged Muroka-Nama-Genshu version just takes an already great sake to another level. And in terms of what Shibori-tate are all about, it certainly ticks all of the right boxes.

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It's juicy, fresh, and has that wonderful mouthful umami quality to it. It's not particularly aromatic, rather the main characteristic is it's richness of flavour. However, despite this richness, the dry element means that it isn't at all cloying, and is perfect for just simply sipping away on with or without food to accompany it.

With Hiya-Oroshi still very much doing the rounds here in Japan, what a wonderful juxtaposition these freshly pressed sake make to further spoil us fans of sake.

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Gassan Shibori-tate, Houjun Karakuchi Junmai

 

月山しぼりたて、芳醇辛口純米

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Specification: Unpasteurised, unfiltered, undiluted / 分類: 無濾過生原酒

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Polishing Ratio: 70% / 精米歩合：70%