N by HIDETOSHI NAKATA

Following his retirement from his professional soccer career, Hidetoshi Nakata spent seven years traveling throughout all forty-seven of Japan’s prefectures to learn more about Japanese culture and craftsmanship. Sake brewing in particular captured his attention.

In 2015, Nakata established JAPAN CRAFT SAKE COMPANY in an effort to promote awareness of Japanese sake, culture and craftsmanship around the world as well as develop solution based systems that will ensure the continued growth and longevity of Japan’s traditional industries, such as sake and tea.

After visiting over 500 sake breweries, it was Juyondai, produced by Tatsugoro Takagi of Takagi Sake Brewery, Yamagata, that fascinated him most. Nakata, who is also well-versed in wine, was deeply impressed by how this sake was of a quality comparable to the world’s finest wines.

“Juyondai’s sake has refined sweetness and rich, complex flavours, in addition to being refreshing and smooth to drink. Above all, I was captivated by the outstanding skill, sincere attitude, and discerning palate of Tatsugoro Takagi, who is the fifteenth generation leader of the brewery.”

Despite their different backgrounds, the two men quickly formed a close bond that developed into an enduring friendship. Therefore, when Nakata shared his vision to create a sake through which he could promote Japanese sake culture and develop an export system that would resolve the problems inhibiting the appreciation of its high quality around the world, Takagi accepted the challenge.

Through the combined power of their passion and effort, N by Hidetoshi Nakata, was born.

Nakata says that N by Hidetoshi Nakata “provides a wider range of flavours than white wines and is lighter than red wines.’ Like a vintage champagne, you can enjoy its clear, full-bodied flavour throughout a multi-course meal. As N by Hidetoshi Nakata was created for the world, it has an expression that suits a wide range of cuisines, so the pairing potential is borderless. It is complex enough to be paired to fatty white fish and rich red meat, yet, because it has a milder flavour and expression than red wine, it can complement various dishes,” Nakata explained.

Although sake is typically served with seafood in restaurants, Nakata recommends tasting N by Hidetoshi Nakata in the transition between the drinking of white and red wines. “But, when you have finished drinking red wine, I’m sure that you will feel like drinking it again,” said Nakata confidently. The reason lies in N by Hidetoshi Nakata’s depth of flavour. Most sake has been produced on the assumption that it will be drunk within a year. However, N by Hidetoshi Nakata is only shipped from the brewery after being matured at -8oC for at least eighteen months. It has been specially crafted to ensure that the complexity of flavours elegantly deepen with the passage of time.

From the first sip, you will be fascinated with the wonderful aroma and refined sweetness, and the more you drink N by Hidetoshi Nakata the more you will be captivated by its complex profile. Like a grand cru wine, through careful, long-term maturation, N by Hidetoshi Nakata will evolve and draw out more flavours in a variety of dishes.

With a vision to create the world’s finest premium sake, Hidetoshi Nakata collaborated with Takagi Brewery, a famed artisan sake brewery in Yamagata, to produce his own private sake label, N by Hidetoshi Nakata. Only 1000 bottles of this limited edition sake are produced each vintage.

N by Hidetoshi Nakata’s elegant expression is the result of the harmony that is created between the fresh, fruity aroma and full-bodied flavour imparted by Yamada Nishiki rice and the refined sweetness of the rare Aiyama sake rice.

When gently chilled, sumptuous aromas of cantaloupe melon, Shine muscat grapes, Fuji apple, La France pear, white peach, kumquat, and white flowers emanate from the glass, before cascading into a smooth, well structured flavour which spreads widely across the palate, then departs with a well defined, clean finish.

As it gently warms in the glass the aroma and flavour gracefully deepens, bringing notes of ripe melon, juicy apple, luscious fruit, rose water and orange zest to the fore. The texture is sublimely supple and silky smooth. In the mid- palate the flavour develops a rich umami taste and luxurious complexity which swells, expands and then elegantly recedes into a long and graceful finish.

N by Hidetoshi Nakata can be enjoyed during the current vintage year, or, like a grand cru wine, it can be carefully matured. Aging at minus temperatures allows it to develop depth and draw out more flavours in a variety of cuisines.

SAKE RICE VARIETALS

Yokawa, Hyogo Prefecture grown
Special A Grade Yamada Nishiki Rice (Koji Rice) & Special A Grade Aiyama Rice (Kakemai Rice)

Alcohol _ 15% 750ml

“Shizuku-shibori” Cloth bag gravity filtration
Bottle matured at minus eight degrees
Once pasteurized to retain a fresh expression & maintain stability

N by Hidetoshi Nakata is reborn as 2017 VINTAGE, an exceptionally rare sake with a graceful expression and elegant complexity that is reminiscent of a fine grand cru.

Although N by Hidetoshi Nakata is released each year, a small number of bottles are reserved for long term aging at Takagi Sake Brewery. Due to sake’s sensitivity to temperature and light, long-term aging is both a challenging and high risk endeavour. However, the reward for Takagi Sake Brewery’s patience, expertise and precise quality control is a sake with a graceful expression that pays homage to the passage of time.

Only exceptional years of N by Hidetoshi VINTAGE are released, and only when the matured sake has reached its optimum aroma, flavour and complexity. N by Hidetoshi Nakata 2017 VINTAGE is the second vintage to be shared with the world.

Following six years of long-term aging at minus eight degrees, the bright fruit aromas present in its youth have elegantly evolved into soft, mild notes of ripe pear, Japanese honeyed apples, yellow flowers, chamomile, powdered almond and a hint of steamed rice. These ambrosial aromas continue in the flavour which washes widely across the palate in a smooth, velvety wave. It becomes concentrated in the mid-palate, revealing the deep, umami taste imparted by the Yamada Nishiki rice and the sweet, richness of the rare Aiyama sake rice.

Long-term maturation has elegantly softened the rich, fruity flavour and well-defined structure that is characteristic of N by Hidetoshi Nakata, as well as brought to the fore layers of mellow, savoury notes and a gentle minerality. Its sweetness and umami are beautifully integrated, while the refined acidity draws the flavour to a long, luxurious off-dry finish, with a hint of kabosu skin-like spiciness lingering in the aftertaste.