So the Nihonshu season is well underway for the 2014-2015 sake brewing year. But some of the Shinshu, or “New Sake”, are still available on the market.

The sake brewing season typically starts some time in November, and it takes around a month to brew a tank of sake. After fermentation is finished, the sake will usually sit for 6 months before release, undergoing a maximum of two pasteurizations: one in the tank and the other in the bottle. I will delve into more details about the pasteurization in a later blog.

The first bottles released, in very small quantities, are what sake producers call “Sake Nouveau”. This is not to be confused with Beaujolais Nouveau (Which isn’t ALWAYS a bad thing, is it?).

Sake Nouveau is not a regulated category but consumers and enthusiasts alike tend to trust the methods and dedication of their favorite sake breweries, and I am no different.

Sake Nouveau is, simply put, directly from the tank. This is the first of the year, in its purest, most raw form. It is not filtered, not pasteurized and typically not branded. It is usually from a single tank, and one of the smaller ones usually with a capacity of about 1,800 liters rather than the larger ones that can hold close to 18,000 liters.

A medium-sized brewery will brew around 70 tanks per year. They will all be branded differently, sometimes pasteurized, filtered and etc. However, this one is special. The flavors tend to be raw and unrefined but it is these angular flavors that bring a unique shape to this small category of sake.

Sake Nouveau is gone for this year but I still wanted to talk about because next year it will be back in small quantities, and I hope more of it finds its way to Hong Kong’s coastline and maybe into Europe and the US.

Shinshu is slightly even more ambiguous. It is referred to as New Sake. Considering that most sake is aged for six months before its release, Shinshu is typically released in late winter or early spring. The style is a little cleaner and fresher compared with sake released later in the year. This is because it doesn’t always have the time to take on some of the rounder, rustic notes of a sake that had a chance to reach maturity closer to six months of resting. Most of the time, it reminds me of the snow, pine trees and clean air that a winter brew should evoke.

Remember that there is no law for this – it is up to the Toji to decide how long each brewery’s sake should age and when it should be released.

Below is a selection of the Sake Nouveau and Shinshu I’ve tasted so far in 2015.

Asahiyama Ginjo Shinshu

Country: Japan

Region: Niigata

Vintage: Shinshu/New Sake

Score: 97 Points

Asahiyama is a big brewery that produces a lot of sake. They are one of the more recognizable brands and their style is often typical. I don’t mean that in a bad way. In fact, a Junmai from them is textbook Junmai in polishing rate, dryness and tasting notes. I really appreciate their Shinshu because it tends to be even greater than textbook: it is benchmark. It possesses a lively freshness with notes of the cleanest sprigs of mint, rosemary and thyme while having a mineral mouth feel and dry finish. Extremely palatable and reminiscent of the winter frost during which it is released.

Daishinshu Sake Nouveau

Country: Japan

Region: Nagano

Vintage: Sake Nouveau/Tank to bottle

Score: 94 Points

Daishinshu brewery is located in the prefecture of Nagano, which is famous for Japanese apples, and there is something to be said for its terroir. This raw sake shows notes of a big starchy Red Delicious apple with a tart, yogurty finish. There is a little less of that tank-to-bottle effervescence that may be a result of some secondary fermentation in bottle, although it is slightly present. This sake, referred to as ‘Bagainhin’, is blended into smaller batches with two types of Junmai Daiginjo and one type of Junmai Ginjo before being immediately bottled. The polishing rate is not disclosed on the label, making it classified and unique. However, it is essentially at the Junmai Daiginjo level and that comes across with those orchard fruit notes.

Tsubosaka Sake Nouveau

Country: Japan

Region: Hyogo

Vintage: Sake Nouveau/Tank to bottle

Score: 95 Points

Unclassfied on the label but polished to the level of Junmai Ginjo, this literally tastes fresh out of the tank! In fact, it isn’t even pressed, but rather pumped into a pneumatic press. The product in this bottle is called Arabashiri. It is the free-run juice that flows from the press before it is even switched on! There is a creaminess that evokes the rawness as if the fermentation had just finished, even if it has fully finished. The nose has notes of just-ripening guava and papaya behind the layers of steamed glutinous rice. On the palate, the slight sparkle of secondary fermentation is present with notes of unripe tropical fruit cocktail. The notes match the rich, creamy mid palate. The finish is almost off-dry but it still ends with a bold freshness. It is slightly wild but unique and delicious with a very short drinking window.

Kamoizumi Junmai Ginjo Shiboritate Nama Shinshu

Country: Japan

Region: Hiroshima

Vintage: Shinshu/New Sake and Sake Nouveau/Tank to Bottle

Score: 93 Points

This sake is a great juxtaposition of the often bold and powerful style of a rustic Junmai Ginjo (Kamoizumi’s style as a producer) and the typically fresh, vibrant character that a Shiboritate Nama can bring. This sake is at somewhat of a crossroads between being defined as a Shinshu or a Sake Nouveau. The word Shiboritate literally means “just pressed” but it can be made any time of the year. This is the “first pressed” of the year and “just pressed’” so it is truly a rare bottling for this producer. This sake displays little to no effervescence but has a fresh cream mouth feel to it and notes of roasted chestnuts, matsutake mushroom and Ovaltine powder. The vibrancy of the sake is displayed through a fine yuzu-like acidity that starts toward the end of the mid palate and carries long through the finish.

Nabedana ‘Fudoh’ Junmai Daiginjo Shiboritate Shinshu

Country: Japan

Region: Chiba

Vintage: Shinshu/New Sake and Sake Nouveau/Tank to Bottle

Score: 96 Points

Fudoh is the premium brand from the 350-year-old Nabedana Brewery. They are located in Narita, not too far from Japan’s Narita International Airport. Nabedana refers to this sake as a Tsuru Shiboritate. This is to say that it is a gravity press, much like the more commonly-referred Shizuku style. This process results in a delicate quality that is achieved from bottling only free-run juice directly after fermentation. This sake shows honeydew and peach schnapps aromatics. There is an elevated, chalky minerality on the nose that becomes textural on the palate. This sake has had no time to rest before being bottled and the result is a certain fleshy melon component on the palate and a clean, crisp finish. This is sake that needs no food and should be consumed as soon as it is acquired.

Elliot Faber is the beverage director of two cool Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong – Yardbird and Ronin – as well as Sunday’s Grocery. He is also one of the world’s experts on sake, Japanese whisky, shochu, awamori and Japanese beer.

Elliot's Article: The Sake New Year