The launch event for the new Ducasse sake was held at Beige last week. It's already being poured in France — and also at Air France First Class lounges here and there. But this was its first unveiling in Japan.
It's a junmai-shu, produced in Kanazawa by Nakamura Shuzo, a long established kura (founded around 1818-1829) known for its Nichie brand. And it's been given a very handsome bottle — light blue glass (to reflect the local glass tradition), with a hinged, swing-top (Grolsch-type) seal.
The label and packaging — by Shinichiro Ogata of Simplicity — are classic Japan contemporary, down to the outside box in kiri wood.
The sake is brewed from organic rice grown in the traditional way on rice terraces in northern Ishikawa-ken. The choice of rice — regular uruchimai rather than sakamai — is interesting, and must surely have a strong bearing on the flavour. It has a really strong sweet presence at first, with plenty of koji aromas, but tailing off into a very pleasant, lingering liquorice sharpness.
