Takeno Asahi Kurabu Sake

Volume: 0.72 litres | Alcohol content: 14% | Chill filtration: Yes | Colouring: No

Special Features:

Takeno Asahi Kurabu is a modern, non-vintage Junmai sake from Kyotango in the north of Kyoto Prefecture. This 14% edition comes in a bottle holding 0.72 litres, follows the 2021 cuvée and features updated presentation.

Takeno makes this sake from organically grown Asahi rice with a rice polishing ratio of 60%. The bottling is intended for bottle ageing: its initially distinct sequences of herbs, spices, flowers, fruit, bitterness and vanilla are expected to become more harmonious over the years.

The sake is best served between 6 and 12 °C. Suitable food pairings include miso turnip, fennel salad and tourteau fromager.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: The nose is herbal and lightly spicy, with coriander and nutmeg.
• Palate: On the palate, floral notes of gentian are followed by fruity banana, delicate bitterness and finally vanilla.
• Finish: The finish is pleasantly rounded and rather subtle.

Distillery/Bottler:

Takeno Shuzo is based in Kyotango in the north of Kyoto Prefecture. The brewery’s roots date back to 1847; after operations were interrupted by the war, four local sake breweries joined forces to form the present company, founded in 1947. Takeno works with rice farmers and adapts its production to the characteristics of each rice variety and to the freshness of the sake.

The Asahi rice variety was developed in southern Kyoto in 1909 but largely disappeared from the fields because it was difficult to cultivate. Farmers in Shiga later revived its cultivation. Takeno released the first Asahi Kurabu in 2003 and has since associated the sake with the rice variety’s naturally pronounced umami and its suitability as a food pairing.

Facts: