HEAVENSAKE Noir – Junmai Daiginjo

Régis Camus spent decades as a cellar master in Champagne before turning to sake, and Heavensake is what came of it: Japanese brewing approached with a blender’s eye. Label Noir is made with Niizawa in Miyagi, a brewery rebuilt after the 2011 earthquake and now led by Kaori Watanabe, one of the youngest toji in Japan. The rice is polished back to 23 per cent, leaving barely a quarter of each grain.

Cantaloupe, tangerine and lychee on the nose, with ripe apple and a floral lift behind. The palate is clean acidity and minerality with the fruit carrying right through, and the finish stays light without ever thinning out.

A precise, fruit driven daiginjo that drinks closer to a fine white wine than to most sake. Serve it chilled, 7 to 10 degrees, in a wine glass rather than a small cup.