Noguchi Naohiko Honjozo Muroka Nama Genshu (*unpasteurized). Getting a chance to drink an unpasteurized sake from Japan is exciting and this Honjozo does not disappoint. It’s very lively in the glass, always evolving, and similar to a lot of natural white wines we’ve opened in the recent past, thinking specifically of the Florez “Moonmilk” Chardonnay 2018 Santa Cruz Mountains and La Garagista Loup d’Or 2018 Brianna, for starters. We’re going to lean on Beau Timken of True Sake for the tasting notes:
If you drink sake long enough, eventually you find those brews that blow your socks off. Count this sake as one of your Bucket-List-brews that takes “flavorful” sake to the next frontier. Oh my gosh! Talk about controlled madness. Talk about controlled brashness. The entire world of flavors is in this brew, which could be crazy, but the balance of this Nama Honjozo is superb and this makes the whole thing dance perfectly. … In a nutshell this sake is a flavor shifter along the lines of a shape shifter. It changes with every sip, but never let’s you get lost.
That sounds about right, it’s a very nice ride! We purchased this sake from True Sake.
*The majority of Japanese sakes consumed in the U.S. are pasteurized in one way or another, which helps to stabilize the sake for preservation and shipping.