Japanese sake: junmai brewed in six prefectures
25 bottles, from €28 to €145A single figure governs the whole section: how much of the rice grain remains after polishing. 70% for a junmai, 60% at most for a ginjo, 50% at most for a daiginjo. The rest has turned to dust before fermentation even begins, and that is what you pay for.
Our entire range is junmai, with no added distilled alcohol. The table of the three categories explains what the name guarantees, and the temperature table what to do once the bottle is open.
Yoshimura - Saké Kurumazaka 2021
A Kimoto Junmai from Nara that is at once expansive, precise, and deeply umami.
Zaku - Saké Megumi No Tomo
A Junmai Ginjo de Mie of great finesse, where the purity of the rice and aromatic freshness are expressed with balance and precision.
Fukunishiki - Saké Fu Junmai
A fine sake from Hyōgo Prefecture: a terroir rich in rice-growing tradition.
Zaku - Saké Impression M Genshu
A precise and expressive Junmai Ginjo Genshu, which combines aromatic intensity and crystalline freshness.
Sakehitosuji - Saké Kinrei
A delicate and pure Junmai Ginjo, which combines aromatic finesse and silky texture to enhance Japanese cuisine and seafood dishes.
Sakehitosuji - Saké Junmaishu
A precise and harmonious Junmaishu from Okayama, where the purity of the rice meets a silky and umami texture.
Zaku - Saké Monad
A precise and crystalline Junmai Ginjo, where the purity of the rice meets a delicately fruity freshness.
Zaku - Saké Kizui
A Junmai Daiginjo from Mie of great purity, combining aromatic finesse, silky texture and a clean, umami finish.
Zaku - Saké Naguwashi Suzuka Kaminoho
A pure and precise Junmai Daiginjo, which finely expresses the character of Kaminoho rice and the freshness of the Suzuka terroir.
Suginishiki - Saké Kimoto Junmaishu 90 2021
A Kimoto Junmaishu 90 with a rustic and umami profile, which highlights the raw power of rice and traditional fermentation.
Suginishiki - Saké Edo No Haruzake Nigori
A Yamahai junmai nigori from Shizuoka, at once velvety, milky and deeply umami.
Suginishiki - Saké Tenpo 13 2023
A Yamahai Junmai from Shiga with a deep personality, where the richness of the rice meets a refined umami intensity.
Suginishiki - Saké Bodaimoto 2023
A pure and flavorful junmai bodaimoto, where the traditional method exalts the depth of the rice and a subtly gastronomic acidity.
Sakehitosuji - Saké Akaiwa Omachi
A precise and crystalline Junmai Daiginjo from Omachi d'Akaiwa, which finely expresses the purity of its Okayama terroir.
Sakehitosuji - Saké Kimoto
A precise and harmonious Kimoto Junmai Ginjo, where the purity of the rice meets a silky and deep texture.
Sakehitosuji - Saké Jidai Okure
A deep-seated yamahai junmai ginjo from Okayama, where umami richness meets elegant freshness.
Zaku - Saké Isenishiki Étude
A Junmai Daiginjo of great purity, where aromatic finesse meets a crystalline and deep texture.
Zaku - Saké Concentration H
A precise and concentrated Junmai, which highlights the purity of the rice and the freshness of its Mie terroir.
Zaku - Saké Impression H Genshu
A precise and vibrant Junmai Genshu, where the purity of the fruit meets a full and silky texture.
Harugokoro - Saké Kenroku Zakura Hiru
A Junmai Ginjo from Ishikawa that is all about delicacy, where the purity of the rice meets a subtle and refined freshness.
Fukunishiki - Saké Junsei Yamada Nishiki Genshu
A characterful, ample and deep kimoto genshu that accurately expresses the nobility of Hyogo's Yamada Nishiki rice.
Fukunishiki - Saké Harimaji
A precise and refined Junmai Ginjo, which highlights the purity of the rice and the freshness of Hyogo.
Sakura Masamune - Kinmare Junmai Daiginjo 40 Saké
Hamada - Faucon Junmai Daiginjo 38 Saké
Sakura Masamune - Miyamizu-no-Hana Tokubetsu Junmai 65 Saké
Three categories, only one figure to remember
The polishing ratio, or seimaibuai, tells you how much of the grain remains after milling. The lower it is, the more rice has been discarded, and the finer and more expensive the sake. It is as much an indicator of cost as of style.
| Category | What the name guarantees | What it means in the glass | In our cellar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junmai up to 70% of the grain retained | Rice, water, koji, yeast. Nothing else, and certainly no added alcohol. Polishing remains moderate, sometimes barely begun. | Body, substance, notes of rice and grain. This is the style that gains most from being served warm, where the others lose out. | From €28 to €81, including a Suginishiki Kimoto Junmaishu polished to only 90% |
| Junmai Ginjo at most 60% of the grain retained | Polishing goes down a notch and fermentation is long and cold. That is what creates the esters, those fruit aromas you do not find anywhere else. | Pear, melon, white flowers. More aromatic and lighter; serve chilled so as not to crush the fragrance. | From €42 to €66, including the Zaku wines from Mie Prefecture |
| Junmai Daiginjo at most 50% of the grain retained | At least half of the grain is ground to dust before fermentation. Rice and time deliberately sacrificed: this is the summit of the Japanese hierarchy. | Silky texture, precise aromatics, seamless alcohol. The finest style in the section, and the most sensitive to heat. | From €52 to €145, including Hamada's Faucon polished to 38% and Sakura Masamune's Kinmare to 40% |
No honjozo, no futsushu here: these two categories allow distilled alcohol to be added before pressing. The cellar stops at junmai.
Eight houses, from Kobe to the foot of Mount Fuji
Each tile opens the house's selection, with the filter already applied.
Zaku
Mie Prefecture, local Ise-Nishiki rice and water from the Miyagawa. The house most represented here, from junmai genshu to daiginjo for ageing.
Mie PrefectureSakehitosuji
Okayama and its Omachi, a rice variety born there in the 19th century and reputed to be the hardest to grow. A kimoto and a yamahai in the selection.
Okayama PrefectureSuginishiki
Shizuoka, snowmelt from Mount Fuji filtered through volcanic rock. The house of ancient starters: yamahai, bodaimoto, and a barely polished junmai.
Shizuoka PrefectureFukunishiki
The Banshū plain in Hyōgo, birthplace of Yamada Nishiki, which brewers call the king of sake rice. Two cuvées out of three made using kimoto.
Hyogo PrefectureSakura Masamune
The name of its cuvée, Miyamizu-no-Hana, refers to Miyamizu, the Nada mineral water that made the reputation of Kobe sake.
A daiginjo polished to 40%Under €50
The entry point to the section, junmai and ginjo together. The category says nothing about enjoyment: several ancestral starters can be found here.
Two thirds of the section
The same bottle changes face four times
No other drink accepts such a range, from 5 to 50 °C, and Japan has named each step. Serving a sake at the wrong temperature means missing out on what you paid for.
| Temperature | The Japanese name | What it changes | Best kept for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 °C straight from the fridge | Yuki-hie, snow-cold | Closes up the aromas and tightens the palate. Useful for taming a very fragrant or very textured sake. | A cloudy nigori, a daiginjo in high summer |
| 10 to 12 °C the safest zone | Hana-hie, flower-cold | The fruity esters express themselves without the alcohol standing out. If in doubt, this is the one. | Ginjo and daiginjo, half of the section |
| 15 to 18 °C cellar temperature | Suzu-hie, cool | Body and texture come back, the rice shows through. Many junmai reveal nothing more when cold. | Junmai, kimoto and yamahai |
| 35 to 40 °C body temperature | Hitohada-kan, skin-warm | The umami unfolds, the acidity rounds out, a closed sake wakes up. This is where ancestral starters show what they can do. | Characterful junmai, the Suginishiki bodaimoto |
| 45 to 50 °C the threshold not to exceed | Atsu-kan, hot | Dries out the finish and brings out the alcohol. Reserved for rustic sakes, never for an aromatic cuvée. | Suginishiki's Kimoto Junmaishu 90, minimally polished |
To warm it, use a bain-marie and never the microwave: direct heating breaks down the aromas and leaves a taste of burnt alcohol. A heated daiginjo loses exactly what cost the most to produce.
The polishing ratio measures a cost, not a quality
The Japanese hierarchy is crystal clear, and that is its flaw: it ranks sakes on a single criterion, the amount of rice discarded. A daiginjo at 38% costs more than a junmai at 70% because it took twice as much grain for the same volume, not because it is twice as good.
What we look at first lies elsewhere, in the starter. Some of our cuvées begin their fermentation the old way: kimoto, where the mash is pounded with a paddle for hours to let lactic bacteria from the air take hold; yamahai, the version where the mash works on its own; and bodaimoto, the method of 15th-century monks. The modern route, sokujo, simply adds lactic acid and saves two weeks.
A Kimoto Junmaishu polished to 90%, so barely milled, costs €47.60 and sits at the very bottom of the official hierarchy. Yet it is one of the most interesting sakes in our cellar, and it is served warm.
Three misconceptions
Sake is drunk hot. True of an industrial sake, where heat masks the faults. On a ginjo, it destroys the work of the cold fermentation.
It is a strong spirit. Most are 15 or 16% ABV, less than a port. Genshu, which are undiluted, go a little higher.
It keeps like wine. No. Apart from koshu, which are deliberately aged, a sake should be drunk within a year of bottling, stored upright, away from light.
The Wine Wanderer Team
What we are asked about sake
What is the difference between junmai, ginjo and daiginjo?
The rice polishing ratio, and that alone. A junmai retains up to 70% of the grain, a ginjo 60% at most, a daiginjo 50% at most. The word junmai in front also guarantees that no distilled alcohol has been added, which is the case for all our cuvées.
Is sake a rice wine?
No, and the expression is misleading. Grapes contain directly fermentable sugar; rice does not. You first need a mould, koji, to convert the starch into sugar. This conversion and the fermentation take place at the same time in the same tank, a process that exists nowhere else.
Is sake a strong spirit?
Less than you might think. Most sakes are between 15 and 16% ABV, barely more than a powerful white wine and considerably less than a port. Genshu, not diluted before bottling, go a little higher.
Should sake be drunk hot or cold?
Both are justified, depending on the cuvée. A ginjo or daiginjo is served at 10–12 °C, otherwise the heat destroys the aromas obtained through cold fermentation. A characterful junmai, on the other hand, benefits from being served warm, at around 40 °C. The temperature table above details the five levels.
What are kimoto and yamahai?
Two ancestral ways of starting fermentation. With kimoto, the mash is pounded with a paddle for hours so that lactic bacteria in the air take hold naturally. Yamahai does away with the pounding but keeps the principle. The modern method, sokujo, adds lactic acid directly. Nine of our 25 sakes use an ancestral starter.
What do genshu and nigori mean on a label?
A genshu has not been diluted with water before bottling: it is more concentrated and slightly higher in alcohol. A nigori has been coarsely filtered and retains particles of rice in suspension, hence its cloudy appearance and milky texture. Both can be found in this section.
How long does a bottle of sake keep?
Unlike wine, sake is not made to age. Allow one year after bottling, stored upright, away from light and heat. Koshu, deliberately aged, are the exception that proves the rule.
And once the bottle is open?
One to two weeks in the fridge, re-stoppered. Sake oxidises faster than white wine because it contains almost no tannins or sulphites to protect it. A nigori should be drunk even sooner.
What dishes should I serve sake with?
It excels where white wine struggles: raw fish, shellfish, briny dishes, where its lack of biting acidity and its wealth of umami avoid a metallic clash. A warm junmai also goes very well with a pressed cheese or a broth.
What glass should sake be served in?
A white wine glass is better than the small traditional cup for a ginjo or daiginjo: it concentrates the aromas that these cuvées cost so much to produce. The ceramic cup still has its place for warm service.