Natsu no Otozure

Year: 2024

Producer: 大嶺酒造 Ohmine Shuzou

Prefecture: 山口県 Yamaguchi

Style: 火入れ Hiire

Polishing (精米歩合): 50%

Alcohol: 12.5%

Varietal: 山田錦 Yamadanishiki

Notes

夏の訪れ, or Summer's Arrival, is an apt name for the first sake that I choose to remember on this site. It is the summer seasonal sake from Ohmine Shuzhou, which brings with it crisp cleanliness and a sweetness that I have come to enjoy from this brewery.

Ohmine Shuzou categorizes its sake by polishing percentage (精米歩合). 3-Grain are sakes polished 50% and above, while 2-Grain are sakes polished 30-49%. The brewery uses soft water high in calcium from the nearby Beppu Benten Pond to brew their sakes.

This sake is processed hiire - pasteurised by immersion in hot water to denature the yeast, enzymes and bacteria, producing a nice colourless clear sake.

In the nose, notes of pear (yonashi) with a tinge of melon and grape sweetness.

This sake when cold is very clean and easy to drink, reminescent of enriched spring water with light sweetness. As it warms up, the sweetness opens up greatly and flourishes with a lot more depth of melon and Muscat green grapes, but still retains that easy nature of drinking that makes this bottle one to enjoy.

Overall ⚅