Australian Gourmet Traveller - (05)May 2020 (1)

sugar.Afterthericeis steamedandthekojiis added,sake

brewersalsointroducelacticacidtothemash,creatinga

slightlysourenvironmentfortheyeasttofermentproperly.

“Inmostmodernsake,thebrewersaddthelacticacid,”says

Ochiai.“Butintraditionalkimotoandyamahaimethods,the

mashis leftfora fewweekssothatthenaturallacticbacteriain

theaircanturnit sour.Notmanysakesaremadethiswaynow,

becauseit is morelabourintensive,andif thebrewersdon’tknow

whatthey’redoingit canberisky,becauseit is usingnatural

processes.Butit is worthit forthecomplex,earthyflavours.”

It certainlyis worthit.OneofthesakesOchiaiimports

throughhercompany,DejavuSakeCo,is a yamahaicalledJikomi

fromtheTengumaibreweryinIshikawa,centralJapan.Witha hint

ofgoldintheglass,a full,almosttoastyaroma

andsatisfyingsavoury,creamycharactersonthe

tongue,it’sa magnificentexampleofthestyle.

Eventhoughtheyonlyaccountfora small

percentageofthecountry’ssakeproduction,

kimotooryamahaisakesareincreasingly

popularwithAustraliansommeliersand

drinkersaccordingtoLeighHudson,certified

sakeeducatorandsommelier,andco-founder

ofimport/retailbusiness,Sakeshop.

“Sakesmadeusingthesemethodsreally

appealtowinedrinkers,”hesays.“Alotof

othersakesarequitelowinacid,andcanbe

softandbroadonthepalate.Butthehigheracidityin

kimotoandyamahaicanbeoneofthosetouchpoints

thatpeoplewhodrinkwinecanidentifywith.”

Hudsondemonstrateswitha yamahaisakecalled

ZukurifromSenbazuru,a smallbreweryinthecoastal

OitaPrefectureinsouthernJapan:witharomasofgrilled

nutsandfragrantyellowfruit,anda tangy,wineymouthfeel,

it’salmostviognier-likeinitsvinosity.

MattYoungwasalreadywellknownasa sommelierat some

ofSydney’stoprestaurantsandwinebarsbeforeestablishing

hisimportbusinessBlackMarketSakea decadeago.Henow

bringsinsakesfromcloseto 30 producers,andsaysalmost

twothirdsofthemusetraditionalferments.

“Ultimatelyit comesdowntoflavourprofile,”saysYoung.

“Themoresavouryelementsinkimotoandyamahaiarea

moreflexiblefoilforfood.They’reat theoppositeendofthe

flavourspectrumtothehighlypolished,fragrant,prettystyles

ofsake.They’remoretextural,andtheyhavemoreumami.

Whichmeansthey’redeliciousnotjustwithtypicalJapanese

cuisine,butalsoItalianfood:there’ssomuchumamiin

Italiancooking,allthattomato,mushroomandcheese.”

TheYuhoYamaoroshikimotosakethat

YoungimportsfromMioyaShuzo,a brewery

inIshikawa,is oneoftherichest,mostmulti-

layeredandumami-drenchedsakesI’vetried:

I canimagineit workingequallywellwith

udonnoodlesorwildmushroomspaghetti.

YukinoOchiaitalksabouthowumami-

richsakesworkmagnificentlywithseafood,

sayingcreamy,briney,freshlyshuckedoysters

andtheintenseflavourofuni– seaurchin

roe– areparticularlydelicious.But,like

MattYoung,shedoesn’trestricthermatches

totraditionalJapanesedishes.

“Ifyouhavesakewithmuchmoredepthofflavouryou

canmatchwithfoodwithweightierflavour,”shesays.“Kimoto

andyamahaicanbegreatwithlambchops,andcheeses:

cheeseis a goodfriendforsake.Evenpizza.”

LeighHudsonfromSakeshopagrees.

“I liketodrinkthesesakeswithrisottoandtruffle.”

Goodimportersof kimotoandyamahaisake:dejavusake.com.au;

sakeshop.com.au;blackmarketsake.com;sakenet.com.au●

Top

drops

of

the

month

“Kimotoand

yamahaican be

greatwithlamb

chops, andcheeses:

cheeseisa good

friend forsake.

Evenpizza.”

NVNadeson

CollisInception,

Drumborg,$45

Brilliantsparklingwine

madeusingchardonnay

andpinotfromthe 2017

harvest,blendedwith

15-year-oldsolera,

thenagedonlees

for 15 months.

lethbridgewines.com

IF

EN

BL

EN

D

2019 Serafino

Bellissimo

Montepulciano,

McLarenVale,$25

Thisvibrantyoungwine

reallyfulfilsthepromiseof

themontepulcianogrape

in Australia.Fullofblack-

cherryfruit,it’sbalanced

bysnappytannins.

serafinowines.com.au

UJ

CI

Y

PU

RP

LE

2017 BirdinHand

TedChardonnay,

AdelaideHills,$150

Outstandingexpression

ofHillschardonnay,

withrefinedcitrusfloral

aromaticsandgreat

freshness,butstillwith

plentyofgenerosityand

layersofsatisfaction.

birdinhand.com.au

RF

SE

H

&

FL

OR

AL

NVCrittendenSavagnin

Macvin,Mornington

Peninsula,$90

Exquisite,complexand

nuttyblendofflor-aged

savagnin,fortifyingspirit

andfreshgrapejuice.The

nextlimitedreleasein

Junewillbeavailable

fromthecellardoor.

crittendenwines.com.au

MIL

ETI

D

ED

IT

IO

N

2016 LoosenBarry

WalhallaRiesling,

Mosel,$50

A German-Australian

collaboration,thisis a

Moselrieslingmadelike

a Clareriesling(cultured

yeast,coolfermentin

steel)withcrispgreen-

applearomatics.Imported

bycellarhand.com.au

RC

SO

IS

GN

CU

LT

UR

ES

C

S

GOURMET TRAVELLER 35

PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES MOFFATT (MAIN).

Drinks