In 710, the capital of Japan was moved to Nara.
In 1988, 40,000 mokkan (wooden strips on which official messages are written) were discovered in the southeast of the city. According to their contents, they were the ruins of the residence of the imperial family of the time, the "Prince Nagaya".
The mokkan detailed the life of the court nobles at that time and described 6 sakes produced.
Our brewer has taken the production method of one of these sakes and made it again in the same way as the one brewed 13 centuries ago and named it "Prince Nagaya".
Current method of making sake was established around 900 or 1000 AD and has been in use since then BC and has been evolving ever since.
Prince Nagaya is brewed with a single, much older brewing process instead of the three-step process of the current methods. It is very difficult to control quality of the product.
Rice used is rice for eating, not sake rice.
Usually, rice grains are polished to the maximum to maximize the purity of the sake.
Prince Nagaya's 90% polishing rate is such that it is theoretically impossible to make delicious sake.
In the Nara era, brewing methodology was not yet perfected, so it is believed that delicious sake could only be produced once in 100 or with a lower probability.
Prince Nagaya has a SMV sake meter value of -48. It is very sweet, syrupy, with a strong umami flavor.
Intense, aromatic, the flavours evoke caramel, banana, papaya, mango, apricot, notes of honey and sesame, tobacco, iodised hints of seaweed, fermented miso aromas.
The palate is dominated by very strong, very high umami, intense notes of sesame and peanut, very finely iodised. Its complexity and broad range of aromas are quite distinctive. The balance between sweetness and acidity is excellent, The alcohol is perfectly integrated.
In addition, there are subtle flavour notes and a velvety texture. The aroma is fresh and the taste is intense and seductive.
Our perfect pairings : Served chilled or on the rocks, it can be enjoyed as an aperitif and goes well with smoked fish (smoked haddock, smoked sardines), foie gras, game, roast beef, ripened cheeses (old mimolette, blue cheese, Maroilles, parmesan, Pont l'évêque, Livarot), pastries and other fruit desserts, roasted peanuts.
