Inaba Minanogawa Junmai Ginjo Muroka
Grade: Junmai Ginjo
Rice: Gohyakumangoku (Toyama)
Classification: Muroka (Unfiltered)
Alcohol: 15%
Polish rate: 50%
Muroka means this sake skips charcoal filtration, the step that quietly strips away a little colour, aroma and character after pressing. Polished to 50% technically Daiginjo territory but bottled and sold as Junmai Ginjo by a brewery too small and too traditional to chase the fancier label.
Minanogawa takes its name from the river that runs between the peaks of Mt. Tsukuba, and has been poured as the sacred sake of Tsukuba Shrine since Inaba Shuzo’s 6th generation began brewing it in 1867. Today it’s made by Nobuko Inaba, one of Japan’s few female toji, using backyard spring water and moromi still hand-pressed by hanging the mash in cloth bags and letting gravity do the work, rather than a mechanical press.
Ripe lychee and banana on the nose, a touch of strawberry on the palate, luscious and mellow with a soft, pleasant dryness underneath the fruit. Gentle enough for sake beginners, precise enough to have picked up medals at the LA International Wine Competition and International Wine Challenge.
