Senkin Muku Modern 仙禽無垢モダーン純米大吟醸無濾過

 I have not done a post just about sake for a long time but this one is worth a special post. This is called "Senkin Muku Modern Junmai daiginjou" 仙禽*　無垢　モダーン　純米大吟醸 from Senkin sake brewery from Sakura city in Tochigi prefecture 栃木県さくら市. The sake rice is Yamada-nishiki 山田錦 from the local area. According to their website, they emphasize "Domaine" like French wineries, making sake reflecting their “terroir” 風土, water 水, rice 米, and brewery 蔵. 

As soon as I took a sip of this sake I noticed a very crisp acidity reminiscent of a crisp Sauvignon blanc. It was almost effervescent. This was followed by a floral fruity taste. The crisp acidity mellowed somewhat after some time in the glass. The difference in taste between most sakes, especially “daiginjou” class, is very subtle but this one really stands out. We quite like this sake. The pictures below are of the front and back labels.

*Digression alert: “Sen-kin” 仙禽 

“Sen” in ideograms “仙” is composed of two components; one of the left means “man or human” 人 and the right means “mountain” 山. Although it appears redundant, this person also called   “sen-nin” 仙人 it is “a man living in a mountain”. This is based on an old Chinese mythology that an old man with long white hair carrying a staff  living in a high inaccessible mountain sustaining himself just on air or “kasumite” 霞. I am not sure he is a type of deity or holy man but he is immortal. 

“Kin” 禽 means “bird” since this bird is accompanying “sen-nin”, it is assumed to be a crane. The label (the picture above on the left” for exported sake), therefore, includes “immortal wing”.