Manotsuru Junmai Ginjo Toki to Kurasu (72 cl)

Winner of the Gold Medal for “Sake in a Wine Glass” in 2020, this Junmai Ginjo sake seduces with its grassy aromas and dry, spicy mouthfeel, a perfect match with white fish, seaweed and vegetables, and simply oysters!

As usual with Obata, we find the use of rice from the AIDA farm and its rice farming technique of using the nutrients contained in oyster shells to enrich the irrigation water of the rice fields, certified as “agriculture conducive to the well-being of Japanese crested ibis”, aiming at both the reduced use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and the obtaining of a healthy and delicious rice.

A sake that goes well with both French and Japanese cuisine, including beef and foie gras with fig chutney.

About the Obata Brewery

Founded in 1892, Obata is known for taking great care in brewing its sakes and sparing no effort. In particular, its brewers disregard the winter holidays and prefer to stay on site and work from early morning. For the rice, in particular, the company is in partnership with Aida Rice Farming and its oyster shell-based agriculture: the water irrigating the rice fields passes through filters made of oyster shells that provide nutrients and micro-organisms. This practice greatly reduces the use of chemical fertilisers and has impressed 3-star French chef Christopher Coutanceau for its environmental qualities.

Obata’s sakes, characterised by their clarity and elegant umami, are not only recognised at home, but are also praised abroad, where they regularly win medals at the French Kura Master competition and the British International Wine Challenge. They are also among the spirits selected by Air France for first and business class flights.

Since 2014, the company has also had a second building: an abandoned school that has been converted into a sake brewery. This school-brewery has become the ideal place for brewery apprentices, among whom there are now many foreigners.