Juyondai Bessen Morohaku is a junmai daiginjo from Takagi Shuzo in Yamagata, brewed from Yamada Nishiki grown in the Banshu area of Hyogo. It is polished to 45% and made in the fruit-forward, softly sweet style that made Juyondai famous.
About This Sake
Bessen means a specially selected brew, and Morohaku indicates that both the koji rice and the steaming rice are highly polished. All the rice is Yamada Nishiki from the special-A growing districts of Banshu in Hyogo Prefecture, milled to 45% of its original weight. It is pure rice sake, with no added brewer's alcohol, bottled at 15%. It was first released for sale only within Yamagata Prefecture.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Nashi and La France pear, white flowers and melon, shifting to riper tropical fruit as it warms.
- Palate: Silky and rounded, with gentle sweetness, soft umami and balancing acidity.
- Finish: Clean and delicate, with a light tropical note that fades gradually.
Serving & Food
Serve well chilled, around 5 to 8°C, in a white wine glass or thin sake cup, and let it warm slowly in the glass to follow the aromas. Keep the bottle refrigerated and finish it within a few days. Good with sashimi, grilled yakitori with tare, or steamed fish.
How to Enjoy
Japanese dinners and special occasions, and anyone curious about the Juyondai style.
Product Details
Brewery: Takagi Shuzo
Country: Japan
Region: Murayama, Yamagata
Sake Type: Junmai Daiginjo (Bessen Morohaku)
Rice: 100% Yamada Nishiki, Banshu, Hyogo
Rice Polish Ratio: 45%
ABV: 15%
Volume: 720mL
About the Brewery
Takagi Shuzo has brewed in Murayama, in Yamagata's snowy interior, since 1615. For most of that time its sake was sold under the Asahitaka name. In the early 1990s, with the brewery struggling and its toji about to retire, the heir Akitsuna Takagi came home after studying brewing at Tokyo University of Agriculture and took over the brewing himself.
In 1994 he launched a new brand, Juyondai, meaning fourteenth generation, a nod to his father Tatsugoro. At a time when light, dry sake was in fashion, its fuller, fruitier style stood out. His father also developed rice strains, including Tatsu no Otoshigo, grown for the brewery.