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.
Due to its cool climate and pure water, running from the source of the Yoshino River, the Tosa Reihoku region is also renowned for the quality of its yuzu fruit which is designated as Tosa Yuzu. This is similar to the European systems of designated origin which indicate exceptional quality and are tightly controlled. KEIGETSU produce a yuzu sake using organic fruit, grown and handpicked by Mr Matsumoto’s relatives. With 8% abv, this sweet sake is bursting with yuzu citrus fruit, similar to an intense mix of lemon, tangerine and lime aromas with a fragrant lift. The yuzu sake is crafted using Junmai sake, made by polishing rare Akitsuho rice down to 60% of its original weight. This is then blended with free run, hand-squeezed yuzu juice and sugar.
This bright yellow, sweet yuzu sake is bursting with zesty citrus fruit. It has an intense mix of lemon, tangerine and lime aromas with a fragrant lift, and a balanced delicate sweetness.
At 8% ABV, this mouth-puckering yet sweet sake is suitable as a pre -dinner or mid-dinner palate cleanser, in cocktails or on its own paired with desserts or fresh fruit. The unique “super lemon” flavour of yuzu makes it fun to experiment with different flavour combinations. Pairing well with any dishes need a splash of lemon as it is not overly sweet – i.e chicken cesar salad, seafood salad, smoked salmon with cream cheese etc.