Please Help Japan

Kimoto Hanahato Junmaishu (生もと華鳩) 

This was my first sake from the sake club I've just joined and so far I'm glad I stumped up the cash and joined the monthly club!

The only problem being the kanji (Chinese characters) on the label are so hard to read it took ages to find the name of the brewery - even now it's only a guess that it's Enoki in Hiroshima.

Anyway this sake was one of those entered into the 2009 Slow Food Contest in Japan, not sure where it ranked buy I would have placed it high. I really liked this sake.

It has a Nionshudo of +4.5 so is pretty dry although to be honest I got a slight sweetness on the nose. It was also very lightly fragranced.

The rice was polished to 80% - which is a hell of a lot, and leads to better tasting sake.

On the palatte it was light, refined and elegant.
Not like a usual sake taste.

I initially drank it at room temperature, but it's recommended to drink it "Atsukan" (heated up), so I tried that next...

Very mellow and soft when warmed, but also has a "brightness" to it that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

I got a very slight white chocolatey aftertaste as it cooled down too.

I would describe this as like an expensive pinot noir wine (not in terms of taste of course), but it tastes so good you want to keep drinking it.
Some other expensive sakes are more like expensive ports, in that one glass is enough before you move on to another "easier" drinking sake.

This nihonshu was excellent and highly recommended.

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