This bottle is a Sake Gumi selection! It was featured in The Art of Blending: May 2023.

Cuvée Isabel is a bit of a unicorn. This sake is a vertical blend of 5 sakes all varying in their primary rice variety used. The breakdown is as follows: 31.3% each of Yamadanishiki Junmai Ginjos brewed in 2020, 2019, and 2018. The remaining components are 2% sake brewed from Wataribune in 2020 and 4% Ginfubuki sake brewed in 2020. Whew! 

The result is a dry, round, and pleasantly starchy brew. Subtle minerality and green melon on the nose, with perfect vanilla cream and rice pudding on the palate. We enjoyed the crisp body of this sake chilled but found it to reveal its secrets when heated up a little bit. Try it! 

Ever the terroir nuts, Shiga's Matsuse Shuzo uses their Matsu No Tsukasa brand to showcase soil types, rice varieties, and the myriad other resources they have at their disposal to create high quality brews that are as fun to geek out on as they are to drink.

Features

• Brewed in Shiga, Japan by Matsuse Brewery 
• Junmai Ginjo
  
• Seimaibuai (rice kernel remaining): Yamada Nishiki, Ginfubuki + Wataribune 65%
• ABV 15% / SMV: +1 / Acidity: 1.5
  
• Yeast: Kanazawa Yeast #14
• 24 fl oz (720ml)