Time for transparent silver from Cockaigne: Hiraizumi Jumai Ginjyo Sake, Akita Prefecture

This time I got something new! Well at least on this blog. Sake! So far I had a few good ones in my life, but I am most certain that this one was the best I ever had. Besides that I am most certainly not an expert in this very complicated and challenging field of beverages. To make my point clear: I did not even know what kind of sake this was until a couple of fellows from wineberserkers.com gave me a helping (translation-) hand. Enough premature sorry blather. Today’s sake comes from Akita Prefecture in the very north of Honshu Island. It is a Junmai 純米 (pure rice) Ginjyo 吟醸酒 (brewed like a poem) sake named Hiraizumi (Splashing Spring Water). Apparently it was made of Miyamanishiki sake rice and the best “Cru” of the house.

The colour appeared almost crystal clear like springwater (maybe some minimal yellowish reflexes), but of course far more viscous than water. The nose was very complex and frequently shifting (probably just my ignorant observation). I might describe my nose impression as a very intriguing experience. I guess it is best to perform some attribute dropping: fresh grass, white fruits, banana leaves, mellow bananas, pistachios, green tomatoes, bamboo, white chocolate, sticky rice desert aromas, a lot of white flower, hints of herbs, almonds, minerals and maybe even more. I really can’t reproduce my entire nose impression. Simply far too much to put in the frame of a simple tasting note! In nose conclusion: it was very complex, rather delicate and definitely inspirational. The taste was pretty dry, very pronounced and clear (perhaps like springwater), absolutely not bitter and showed quite a bit of well integrated alcohol. Besides that it appeared very delicate, fruitful and profound. I got flavours of various white fruits, cantaloupe, coconut-chocolate (definitely not like Bounty), some nutty aromas, white plums, cream, plenty of bamboo, some minerals, some herbs and smooth white chocolaty silkiness. Silkiness, softness, high complexity and great mouth feel are the nailing descriptions. Especially the wonderfully tense and dense mouth feel and texture of this sake was a FANTASTIC experience for me! This time I choose to refrain from scoring. Far too limited knowledge of sake! Anyway, I guess the expression in capital letters says everything!