BREWERY | LOCATION

NAKA SHUZO | TOKUSHIMA

CLASSIFICATION

Junmai • Pure Rice Sake

Muroka • No charcoal filtration

Nama • Unpasteurised

Genshu • Undiluted

Situated in the town of Naka at the foot of mountainous national parklands in south-eastern Tokushima, Naka Shuzo has been brewing sake since 1725. The brewery has been in the same family for 11 generations with Akihiro Matsuura now continuing the family’s sake brewing tradition with his wife and daughter. Matsuura-san has been brewing sake for over 40 years and does virtually every part of the sake brewing process by himself and has ingeniously built himself devices throughout the brewery to make this physically possible. ⁠

He also grows his own rice organically in a small field near the brewery which supplies enough rice for roughly one quarter of his sake brewing needs each year, with other local rice growers supplying the majority of the remaining rice required. From the rice growing, to each facet of brewing, Matsuura-san is skilfully crafting his sake to be rich in flavour and character. Naka Shuzo is one of smallest sake producers in Japan, brewing only 3-4 small tanks of sake per season.⁠

This Asahi Wakamatsu is a blend of organic Omachi rice grown by Matsuura-san and Nihonbare (a table rice variety) from a local grower. Aged for 3 years before release this sake is a stunning example of combining rice types to create an even more complex drink. It has a herbaceous and pungent aroma with a deep texture and wine-like grip on the palate. The finish is dry, complex and long.⁠

Super stuff.⁠

YEAR: 2017

RICE TYPE: Omachi & Nihonbare

RICE POLISHING: 65%

ALCOHOL: 19.9%

YEAST STRAIN: Naka #10

SERVE: Chilled

SIZE: 720ml & 1800ml