MATSUSE - BLUE LABEL RYUOU JUNMAI DAIGINJO

Brewery Information

Matsunotsukasa Junmai Daiginjo Ryuou Yamada Nishiki, also known as “Blue”, is a sake centred entirely on terroir. This Junmai Daiginjo is brewed with Yamada Nishiki from Kankoshicho, a farming area within Ryuo Town in Gamō District. The rice is certified as organically grown agricultural produce and polished to 50%. With an alcohol content of 16%, this sake is refined, layered and deeply connected to the place where its rice grows.

Tōji Keizo Ishida joined Matsuse Shuzo in 2001 and became head brewer in 2010. He is now in his 26th brewing season at the brewery. During our visit, we were particularly impressed by his explanation of the soil and underlying bedrock. He showed us the importance of looking beyond the rice variety alone. His philosophy of terroir connects the geology, water and rice-growing conditions with the work of the farmers and the choices made in the brewery. It made Matsunotsukasa’s connection to the landscape of Ryuo tangible for us.

Matsuse Shuzo is located in Shiga Prefecture, east of Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest lake. The brewery stands in Ryuo, a quiet farming area where rice fields, rivers and mountains meet. Ryuo forms a natural basin between Kagami-yama to the west and Yukino-yama to the east. Its rice fields are spread across different settings: flat land, slopes at the foot of the mountains and plots along the river.

The soils also vary considerably, from clay and silt to sand, gravel and mixed soils. This diversity is precisely what makes Ryuo’s Yamada Nishiki so interesting. The rice from Kankoshicho grows under relatively low-stress conditions and is known for its soft structure and substantial grain weight. Matsuse Shuzo draws on this texture to create a sake with concentrated flavour, elegant volume and refined depth.

Matsuse Shuzo has worked with local farmers in Ryuo to cultivate Yamada Nishiki for approximately thirty years. The rice is carefully selected and polished by the brewery itself, allowing every stage to be closely monitored. This longstanding collaboration forms the foundation of a sake that combines technical refinement with a clear expression of its origin.

This sake is born in Ryuo’s quiet landscape, among rice fields, villages, rivers and mountains. Matsuse Shuzo seeks to express not only a rice variety, but also the landscape, soil, climate and people behind it. “Blue” Junmai Daiginjo is therefore a sake Ryuo can be proud of: simple in its purity, yet distinctive in its depth.

The sake is fermented with a Kuratsuki Kobo, which complements the elegant yet expressive character of this bottling. In the glass, it reveals a deep, fruity and refreshing aroma, with notes of white fruit, melon, pear, gentle rice aromas, delicate flowers and subtle minerality. On the palate, it is clean, layered and harmonious, with a soft texture, delicate umami, fine freshness and a long, refined finish.

With a Sake Meter Value of 0 and an acidity of 1.4, it remains beautifully balanced: gently rounded and fruity, yet with enough tension and freshness to retain its elegance. The style is not excessively aromatic, but precise, deep and food-friendly.

What makes Matsuse Shuzo distinctive is its almost wine-like sensitivity to terroir and vintage. While sake is often presented through its rice variety, polishing ratio and brewing method, Matsunotsukasa also seeks to reveal the character of a particular year through Blue.

Just as in wine, each year can feel different: temperature, rainfall, rice maturation, soil conditions and the farmers’ work all influence the final quality of the Yamada Nishiki. Matsuse Shuzo therefore uses vintage dates to offer a clearer picture of how Ryuo’s landscape has expressed itself in a particular year.

This 2020 bottle therefore does not automatically have to be an “aged sake” or koshu. The year primarily tells us about the vintage: the rice, the season and the terroir of that particular moment. Time in bottle can naturally bring additional roundness and depth, but the central story remains the expression of Ryuo Yamada Nishiki in that year.

Matsunotsukasa Blue thus becomes a sake of both place and time. A terroir-driven sake that, like wine, invites you to taste different vintages side by side and discover how rice, soil, climate and craftsmanship tell a different story each year.

Serve chilled, ideally between 5 and 10°C, in a wine glass to fully appreciate its finesse, fruitiness and complexity. Beautiful with delicate fish dishes, scallops, lobster, light poultry dishes, tempura, soft cheeses and simply prepared dishes that put elegance first.