Tentaka

Tochigi, Japan

http://www.vineconnections.com/sake/index.html
At a Glance
  • Tentaka is located in Tochigi which is a land locked prefecture and so has a tradition of consuming locally about 85% if the sake brewed there.  The food in this area tends to be heartier fare and so the sake reflect that.
  • President Ozaki is very passionate about the environment and does many things around the brewery to recycle, reuse...they are one of two breweries to have organic certification in the US, EU and Japan.
  • The water source for their sake is an underground river...giving name to their Junmai Daiginjo "Silent Stream".

Eighty percent of Tentaka's Sake is sold in Tochigi Prefecture where they are located. It is brewed with water drawn from an underground stream that originates in the Yamizo and Nasu mountain ranges.

Brewery Name: Tentaka Shuzo (founded in 1914). 
Brewery Location: Tochigi Prefecture 
Toji (Master Brewer): Kouetsu Sugumachi

Tentaka Kuni - Hawk in the Heavens 
Quality Grade: Junmai (at least 30% of rice grain polished away) 
Seimaibuai: 55% (45% of rice grain polished away) Rice: Gohyakumangoku 
Yeast: Tochigi Nihonshu-do: +3 
Alcohol: 15.6% 
Acidity: 2.1

Tasting Notes: A mature well-rounded flavor with a settled fragrance. Dry but with an underlying richness. Drier and lighter when chilled, and a bit fuller as it warms. 

Tentaka Organaka

Quality Grade: Junmai
Seimaibuai: 65% (35% of rice grain polished away)
Rice: Organic Gohyakumangoku
Nihonshu-do: 7
Alcohol: 15.3%
Acidity: 2.2

Tentaka - Silent Stream 

Quality Grade: Junmai Daiginjo (at least 50% of rice grain polished away) 
Seimaibuai: 35% (65% of rice grain polished away) Rice: Yamada Nishiki 
Yeast: #9 Nihonshu-do: +2 
Alcohol: 16.8% 
Acidity: 1.5 

About the Name: The silent stream that lends its name to this sake originates deep in the jagged, snow-covered mountains of Tochigi Prefecture and runs hundreds of miles to the brewery, purifying the clear and untouched water that goes into this sake.

Tasting Notes: Intense and exotic with luscious flavors of soft tropical fruits - guava, passion fruit, melon. The intense, almost herbal aromas of thyme and marjoram resonate in the sinuses. The power of steel cable, the beauty of a Joffrey ballet dancer. Sometimes you just know when you taste perfection.

Wines in Portfolio

Tentaka Kuni Hawk in the Heavens Junmai Tokubetsu Sake NV Tentaka Organaka Junmai Sake NV Tentaka Silent Stream Junmai Daiginjo Sake NV
Tentaka Kuni Hawk in the Heavens Junmai Tokubetsu Sake NV Tentaka Organaka Junmai Sake NV Tentaka Silent Stream Junmai Daiginjo Sake NV