Philip Harper, Japan’s only British sake master brewer, came to London last month to conduct a tasting of his Tamagawa sake with British cheeses from Paxton & Whitfield: a Shepton Mallet goat’s, Paxton’s aged cheddar and Half Baby Stilton. Tousled and Dylan-esque, Philip is an iconoclast. In his talk he defied two conventions. First he demonstrated that sake’s umami content (the fifth taste, meaning, basically, savoury), makes it a good match for cheese. Secondly, he showed the virtue of different temperatures of sake with food by pouring one of his sakes chilled, at room temperature and warm.

Philip Harper

He was following in the footsteps of Kensuke Shichida, in London last month on a mission to show that sake doesn’t just go with sushi, sashimi and tempura, but is far more versatile. Sacrificing his delicate Japanese liver for the purpose, he washed down burgers, steaks, kidneys and sweetbreads with sake from his Tenzan brewery. And he declared that Japan’s traditional rice-based drink is a much better match for, among others, oysters, because its umami content chimes brilliantly with the savoury and briney.

Thanks to advice from sake expert Natsuki Kikuya, Tenzan is one of a handful of top quality sake breweries taken on by Bibendum, the wine merchant. Their move to bring sake to the non-Japanese mainstream follows the launch by Oliver Hilton-Johnson, the first British merchant to sell sake online, of his site of his own sake website, tengusake.com.

Despite the overall decline in the sake industry in Japan, sake brewers like Harper are producing a range of distinctive new and traditional premium styles that are shining a new light on the sake scene. At a recent Japan Embassy workshop on the sake market in the UK, a group of Oxford researchers pointed out that sake has considerable potential for growth here, but it’s hamstrung by factors such as relatively high prices, competition with wine, indecipherable labels, lack of knowledge and staff training. Exports of two per cent (and two per cent of that two per cent to the UK) are a drop in the Sea of Japan.

It’s also the case that not enough people get to discover that umami moment by tasting a really good sake or knowing where to find one. So I welcome the initiatives by UK importers and the appearance of smaller sizes, and even a can (a fantastic one at that) that caters for consumers who just want to try a sake at a relatively affordable price. Increasing visibility of such products, in non-Japanese restaurants and retail outlets, will help give sake the boost that it needs to convince doubters that it is one of the world’s greatest and most enjoyable drinks. For my selection of sakes including stockists and prices, please check out anthonyrosewine.com.

Something for The Weekend

Night In

2011 Xanadu Next of Kin Chardonnay, Margaret River, Western Australia.

The fresh aromatics and seamless peach and pear fruitiness is underlined by a seriousness of creamy texture, not to mention zingy freshness, belying the relatively humble price of this finely-crafted Western Aussie chardonnay. £8.50 Sainsbury’s.

Dinner Party

2012 Thymiopoulos Xinomavro, Trilofos, Naoussa, Greece.

Made from the native Xinomavro, this Greek red comes on all burgundy-like with its berry-scented fragrance and liquid cherries, but the robust texture and damsony freshness shouts wash me down with game or roasted vegetables. £10.50, Marks & Spencer.

Splash Out

2008 Château Capbern Gasqueton, St.Estèphe

Starting to ease into delicious drinkability, this classy cabernet-based claret is a desirable offcut from St.Estèphe classed growth Château Calon-Ségur, and it shows in the cedary oak polish and the stylish core of textured dark fruits. £23.95, Lea & Sandeman.

A SELECTION OF SAKES

1. OZEKI JUNMAI (DRY), FROSTED BOTTLE.
18 CL,, £3.99, WHOLEFOODS, £5.85, HALF, SOME TESCO SUPERSTORES.

Brewed in the US and in frosted bottle, this is a crisp, clear, and unusually dry sake, chimes with tempura and oily fish.

2. OZEKI KARATANBA HONJOZO.
30 CL. £7.30, TESCO SUPERSTORES, ATARIYA GOLDERS GREEN, AND IN FULL 72 CL BOTTLE, £34.56, ATARIYA GOLDERS GREEN.

An easy-drinking, smooth, food-friendly sake with a note of liquorice and crème fraiche flavour and texture.

3. KIKUSUI-FUNAGUCHI.
20CL. CAN. £5 - £5.99, SEAWOO, WHOLEFOODS

A gold winner at this year’s International Wine Challenge, this is unpasteurized (Nama), undiluted (Genshu) sake with immediate, fresh, apple and pear aromas, an appealing creamy texture and richness of vanilla-tinged flavour. Enjoy it chilled or in a sake cocktail.

4. KIKUSUI JUNMAI GINJO.
30 CL. £7.50 - £10.99, SEAWOO, WHOLEFOODS, H MART, AND IN FULL 72CL. BOTTLE, £21.99 - £22.95, WHOLEFOODS, H MART, ATARIYA GOLDERS GREEN.

A typically fragrant junmai ginjo with melon and banana notes.

5. DEWAZAKURA OKA CHERRY BOUQUET GINJO.
30 CL., £14.99, SELFRIDGES; 72 CL., £33 - £33.10, BERRY BROTHERS & RUDD, HEDONISM WINES .

This clear ginjo sake has a lovely fresh clear fruity fragrance with a seductive richness but not sweetness on the tongue and a seamless clean finish. Quite lovely.

6. HOYO GENJI SHINING PRINCE JUNMAI.
72CL., BERRY BROTHERS & RUDD £29.50

Earthy, robust pure rice sake with its sweet-savoury rice character and grippy dry aftertaste.

7. TEDORIGAWA ‘YAMAHAI JUNMAI DAIGINJO’.
30 CL., SELFRIDGES £18.99

A water white, pure rice sake with delicate apple and pear fragrance and precise, subtle peachy qualities that finishes with a dry, cleansing purity.

8. SPECIAL WHITE LABEL DAIGINJO HOKURYU PREMIUM, YOSHIDA SHUZO.
72 CL, £45, TENGUSAKE.COM.

A typically fragrant daiginjo with undertones of liquorice and coconut and a creamy texture shot through with enough acidity to give it a refreshing, dry finish that’s perfect for food.

9. MATUO PREMIUM BREW JUNMAI DAIGINJO, MICHISAKARI. TAJIMI, GIFU. 72 CL, £45, TENGUSAKE.COM.

Water white with typical delicate daiginjo fragrance akin to melon, this has a lovely smooth textured concentration and distinctive intensity; it’s clean, and finishes fresh and appetizingly dry.

10. GOZENSHU ANCIENT MOUNTAIN FUTSUSHU.
72 CL., £20, TENGUSAKE.COM

Since futsushu is the lowest category in the sake packing order, the vin de table, or pays, of sake, if you like, you wouldn’t normally expect too much of it, so this one comes as a really nice surprise because of its superior quality, its relatively rich and creamy texture and a mild sweetness that goes especially well with savoury nibbles such as olives and salted nuts and with dishes such as sausages, pasta and risotto.

11. SHOCHIKUBAI SHIRAKABEGURA DAIGINJO MUROKA GENSHU TAKARA HYOGO.
64 CL., £31.70, HEDONISM WINES.

There’s a strong, punchy kick at 17.5% in this genshu (undiluted) sake, with attractive flavours of liqorice and quite chocolate and a grip that makes it a good Châteauneuf-du-Pape lover’s sake.

12. NANBU BIJIN TOKUBETSU JUNMAI SHU, IWATE .
72 CL. £27.60, HEDONISM WINES.

Fragrant pure rice sake with liquoricey notes on the nose, a full and creamy-sweet texture with typical junmai , food-friendly earthy nuttiness and balanced acidity.

13. AKITA SHURI SEIZOH CO. TAKASHIMIZU JUNMAI DAIGINJO.
RRP £25.99, MR & MRS FINE WINE (NOTTINGHAMSHIRE)

Super-fresh and fragrant pear aromas, delicate daiginjo character with smooth rich fresh pear-like flavours and classic clean finish.

14. AKITA SHURI SEIZOH CO. TAKASHIMIZU HONJOZO.
RRP £18.99, SH JONES (OXFORD), CORNELIUS BEER & WINE (EDINBURGH)

Clean, fresh concentrated and juicy, good value entry level premium sake with nice long, subtle textured ‘riciness’, and one to serve warm with meaty dishes.

15. NIIZAWA HAKURAKUSESI JUNMAI DAIGINJO .
RRP £32.99, BOWLAND FOREST VINTNERS (LANCASHIRE).

Lovely fresh clean classic daiginjo fragrance with watermelon-like characters with light herbal twist, and delicately clean dry, finish.

16. NIIZAWA HAKURAKUSESI JUNMAI GINJO .
RRP £24.99, BOWLAND FOREST VINTNERS (LANCASHIRE)

Fine fresh ginjo fragrance, excellent concentration and creamy richness, all beautifully appetising and balanced .

17. DASSAI 23 JUNMAI DAIGINJO. ASAHISHUZO. YAMAGUCHI.

On the list at Hakkasan and Sake No Hana in 33 cl bottle, a perennial mouthwatering favourite for its super-clean floral and citrus fragrance and wonderfully rich and concise apple and melon flavours, finishing clean and smooth.

18. TAMAGAWA KINSHO.

Fresh and appetizing sake, fragrant, lovely touch of richness on mid-plate, very fresh and juicy, very much a food sake with very good acidity.

19. TAMAGAWA TOKUBETSU JUNMAI.

Fresh, delicately savoury, hint of the sea, and rather good, more umami, savoury characters.

20. TAMAGAWA TIME MACHINE (RM).

Yellow gold, lovely nose, lots of umami, soy, caramel, molasses, deliciously rich and salty sweet, almost chocolatey.

For details of Philip Harper’s Tamagawa sakes, please contact:
World Sake Imports UK
Asami Tasaka
Sales Director/United Kingdom
Office: 02076633991
Mobile: 07515968830
Email: asami@worldsake.com

Time Machine