[5812] Kakurei Unohana-iro So-Jun 鶴齢 卯の花色 爽醇 青木酒造 新潟県 R7BY 720ml

Aoki Shuzo’s “Fūmi Zekka” Series: Unohana-iro

The limited-edition Sō-Jun, which has been highly popular for some time, has now been carried over to the new Fūmi Zekka series. True to its name, this sake beautifully brings out the charm of Koshi-Tanrei—Niigata Prefecture's proud signature sake rice—delivering a highly sophisticated flavor profile that is both exceptionally refreshing and richly mellow. Actually, this sake is also incredibly delicious when well-chilled and enjoyed from a wine glass.

Unohana-iro

"Unohana-iro” (the color of the unohana flower) refers to a pure, pristine white with subtle hints of yellow and blue, resembling the blossoms of the deutzia bush (utsugi) that bloom in early summer. It is one of Japan’s traditional colors, used since the Heian period. Just as the name Uzuki (the fourth month of the traditional Japanese calendar, around May in the modern calendar) implies, the blooming of unohana flowers signals the arrival of summer. 

Dishes dressed with okara—the soy pulp remaining after making tofu—are called “Unohana-ae.” This culinary name compares the appearance of ingredients coated in tiny, stardust-like white bits of okara to the unohana flower.

Unohana-iro x Wine Glass

In Hong Kong, many people like to enjoy sake in wine glasses. When the sake and the glass complement each other perfectly, it feels like a wonderful little discovery. Usually, the goal is to enhance the aroma. However, this is actually quite challenging; simply drinking any sake from a wine glass does not automatically improve the aroma. In fact, it often makes the alcohol feel too sharp or disrupts the balance between taste and aroma.

To begin with, sake is not brewed with the expectation of being drunk from a wine glass, and brewing sake specifically for that purpose gets the priorities backward. Therefore, if a combination happens to work well by chance, it is a wonderful discovery and something to be happy about—and that is more than enough.

Furthermore, the right combination changes depending on your purpose—whether you want to simply enjoy it as a delicious drink or for quality assessment purposes. To be honest, we don't have enough experience with sake and wine glasses to explain it systematically, nor is it something we actively pursue, so we cannot offer grand insights. However, based on our experience, we can confidently say that this Kakurei Unohana-iro pairs exceptionally well with a wine glass.

The glass used here is the Piccolo 10oz from Kimura Glass Shop. It is a standard glass that you can find at almost any natural wine bar across Japan. 

>>>Read more about this bottle at the News Archive

>>>Read more stories at the News Archive

Koshi-Tanrei

Niigata Prefecture is one of Japan’s foremost sake-producing regions. However, until the 1990s, Niigata breweries relied on Yamada-Nishiki rice from other prefectures to brew their premium Ginjo-shu and Daiginjo-shu.

Niigata is renowned for Gohyakumangoku, a rice variety well-suited to cold regions that has yielded numerous masterwork sakes across Niigata and the Hokuriku region. However, Gohyakumangoku is not suitable for high degrees of polishing, making it less than ideal for Ginjo-shu. This sparked a strong desire among local brewers to produce premium Ginjo-shu using 100% locally grown rice. Consequently, in the mid-1990s, the Niigata Prefectural Agricultural Research Center began developing a new variety of sake rice designed to surpass Yamada-Nishiki.

A vast number of crossbred varieties were cultivated in small quantities, promptly brewed into sake at the prefectural brewing research station, and evaluated for selection. Among them, one specific lineage consistently stood out and survived the rigorous selection process, eventually becoming known as “Sake No. 72.” This variety was a cross between Yamada-Nishiki as the maternal parent and Gohyakumangoku as the paternal parent.

Test cultivation of Sake No. 72 started in 2001. This new variety was officially registered in September 2004 and ultimately named Koshi-Tanrei.

In developing Koshi-Tanrei, brewing characteristics were prioritized over cultivation traits. As a result, it poses some agricultural challenges, such as tall stalks that are prone to lodging (falling over). However, it is well-suited to Niigata’s cold climate, produces large grains, and boasts excellent sake-brewing qualities that withstand the high polishing ratios required for Daiginjo-shu. With its low protein content, Koshi-Tanrei is optimal for crafting Ginjo and Daiginjo sakes, delivering a soft, full-bodied flavor profile. Although its yield is lower than that of Gohyakumangoku, it surpasses Yamada-Nishiki.