Dassai 45 Junmai Daiginjo Sake 720ml

Clean, soft and silky, this best-selling sake has dreamy honeydew melon on the nose. Supremely balanced with mild acidity and a tropical party on the tongue with special guests pineapple and mango dancing on the tables. Its finish is sweet, refreshing and invigorating.

• Sake Brewery: Asahi Shuzo
• Grade: Junmai Daiginjo
• Region: Yamaguchi, Japan
• Rice variety: Yamada-Nishiki
• Rice polishing ratio: 45%
• Alcohol: 15%
• Volume: 720ml
• Food pairing: sushi & sashimi, grilled prawns, prosciutto & melon, whitebait, grilled vegetables, cheese platter

“There is no reason for us to craft sake unless it’s super delicious.”, this is the Dassai way. Using Yamada-Nishiki rice polished down to 45%, the Dassai 45 sake delivers fruit aromatics and delicate sweetness.

Asahi Shuzo Co is a Japanese brewery that produces sake under the Dassai brand. Founded in 1948, it is located in the mountains of the Yamaguchi prefecture, well positioned for supplies of clean water and equipped with a 200-feet (60-meter) deep well. The brewery is unusual in focusing entirely on premium Junmai Daiginjo sake.

Top-grade Yamada Nishiki rice is sourced from contracted farms in nine different prefectures. Dassai was the first sake to be made with a centrifuge in place of a conventional press – a process reputed to achieve extra smoothness and cleaner flavours in the final sake.

The three core bottlings are labelled 23, 39 and 50, which refer to the percentage of the grain of rice remaining after polishing, or milling – the lower number is best. While 50 percent is the minimum for the Junmai Daiginjo classification, 23 is a very low percentage for sake generally.

The "23" label is correspondingly pricey, and supply is limited as multiple batches of 23 can be downgraded on assessment. In all, the process of polishing one batch requires seven days and nights – a total of 168 hours' labour.

In recent years the brewery has introduced the rare "Beyond", which is one of the most expensive sakes on the market. Unfiltered Nigori 50 and a Sparkling 50 complete the range.

The brand name Dassai means "otter festival". The name, in part, refers to the river otters which were common in the region of the brewery.

Since 2011, all Dassai products have been annually certified kosher by Chabad Tokyo Japan.

• Gold - 2013 Los Angeles International Wine Competition
• Silver - 2013International Wine Challenge
• Gold - 2012 Los Angeles International Wine Competition
• 18.5/20 - Vinum Wine Magazine