Description
Since 1877, the family-owned Tosa brewery has made sakes in the picturesque, mountainous region of Tosa Reihoku in the Kochi prefecture. Today, the family’s sixth generation Muneki Matsumoto manages production, in the original 140-year-old brewery building. The ‘KEIGETSU’ range derives from the Japanese term, ‘Keigetsu’ describing the beautiful evening scene created when the moon hangs over nearby Katsurahama shore. It also pays homage to the famous novelist Keigetsu Omachi from the Meiji era (between 1868 and 1912), who loved Japanese sake and travelling.
The KEIGETSU sakes are made from the organically grown, local rice varieties Akitsuho, Gin-no-Yume and Yamadanishiki. Akitsuho is a rare table rice variety grown in only two mountainous regions in Japan. The sake-specific rice variety Gin-no-Yume is a crossing of Hinohikari and Yamadanishiki, specially developed for the Kochi prefecture. Hinohikari is a table rice variety native to Kochi and was traditionally used to brew sake before popular sake-specific rice varieties, such as Yamadanishiki, were developed. Mr Matsumoto believes that his local rice, grown within twelve kilometres of the brewery, is best suited to the Tosa Reihoku region because it thrives on the brewery’s terraced rice paddies at 300 – 600 metres above sea level. Here, the remote location and elevation create a high diurnal range, as well as a completely clean, natural environment, which lends itself well to premium rice farming.
The ‘Gin-no-Yume Junmai Daiginjo 45’ is crafted from Gin-no-Yume rice with 45% polish. It has delicate aromas of lychee and rose while being dry on the palate and expressing great purity of fruit on the finish.
This sake is exotic on nose with fresh lychee, starfruit, wild strawberry and rose petal. The palate is bright and pure, with a splash of lime and velvety texture, balanced by umami undertone. This sake has great structure with resonating long finish.
The fruit forward nature of this Junmai Daiginjo makes it appealing to first time sake drinkers. It can be enjoyed on its own or with wide variety of dishes from ceviche, carpaccio (seafood or beef), sushi, to omelette de la mère Poulard and mushroom Wellington.