In Itami, north-west of Kobe, the Konishi family has been brewing sake since 1550. The water runs down from the Rokko and Nagao mountains, soft and low in minerals, and that is the kind of water that yields a calm, clean sake. Shirayuki means white snow.
The expert's description
Shirayuki Sake Japanese Rice Wine 75 cl 14.5% is a Japanese Sake brewed from rice, water, koji and yeast and bottled at 14.5%.
Behind it stands Konishi Brewing Company in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture. The brewery has been run by the same family since 1550 and counts as the oldest sake brewery still owned by the line that founded it. The family originally sold medicine and brewed sake on the side. Itami was Japan's most important sake town through the 17th and 18th centuries, when production was shipped to Edo, and only later did the neighbouring district of Nada take over as the country's largest.
Sake is called rice wine but is not made like wine. Rice holds starch rather than sugar, so a mould called koji is laid over the steamed rice and breaks the starch down, while the yeast converts the sugar to alcohol in the same vessel. Both processes run side by side, and it is a technique you find almost nowhere outside sake.
The style here is the classic, clean one. No heavy aromatics, no lean towards the sweet, but a dry grainy base with fruit laid over it. Shirayuki takes both cold and warm service, and the brewery itself points to the warm serve, which is the traditional Japanese way with a sake in this style. Warming is done in a water bath or an oven to around 40-45 degrees, after which it is poured into a tokkuri and drunk from small sakazuki cups.
Tasting notes
Nose
Ripe pear first, soft and light. Behind it sits a dry grain character close to the steam off cooked rice, and at the edge a trace of grapefruit peel.
Palate
Creamy and soft with a mild alcohol that never pricks. Pear carries the sweetness, grapefruit cuts in a lightly bitter edge, and a spiced pull arrives towards the close. Warmed, the grain and the spice step forward; cold, it is fruitier and tighter.
Finish
Medium and dry. The spice holds on, the sweetness drops away quickly, and what remains is a clean grainy tone that readies the mouth for the next mouthful of food.
Specifications
Name: Shirayuki Sake Japanese Rice Wine 75 cl 14.5%
Producer: Konishi Brewing Company
Region/Country: Itami, Hyogo, Japan
Type: Japanese Sake
ABV: 14.5%
Size: 75 CL
Serving suggestion: Warmed in a water bath to 40-45 degrees and served in a tokkuri with sakazuki cups, or lightly chilled with fish and Asian dishes
Flavour profile
Fruity · Creamy · Spiced · Dry · Grainy
Did you know?
It was the Konishi family that first made clear sake, and it happened by accident. Ash fell into a fermentation vessel and, rather than ruining the batch, cleared it. Until then sake had been cloudy and milky.
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