Bijofu Junmai Ginjo Junrei TAMA Label (720 ml)

When master brewer Ohara Akira trained under a Hiroshima toji — the region that first proved soft water could produce great ginjo — he returned to Tano-cho and applied those techniques to Kochi's nansui, a water so mineral-depleted it was historically dismissed as unbreakable for quality sake. The Junrei TAMA is the direct expression of that gamble. Brewing water is drawn from the subterranean Nahari River, filtered through the Yanase cedar forest — one of Japan's three great forests — emerging as one of the softest water sources in Japanese brewing. That near-zero mineral content suppresses fermentation vigour, demanding the low-temperature, extended moromi protocol Ohara adapted from Hiroshima ginjo tradition. Fermentation relies on Kochi Prefecture's proprietary CEL-24 yeast, among Japan's most aromatic brewing strains, driving pronounced isoamyl acetate and apple-ester production across a slow, cool mash build via sandan jikomi (three-stage rice addition). The rice — milled to Junmai Ginjo specification (≤60% remaining) — is sourced from Ehime Prefecture's Matsuyama-Mii or Shizuku-Hime varieties, workhorse grains that yield a leaner, more focused aromatic frame than Yamada-Nishiki. The special feature here is the paradox Bijofu has engineered: a Kochi dry-style sake (the prefecture's tradition demands lean, food-driven dryness) that simultaneously carries the aromatic lift and textural softness of a Kyoto or Hiroshima ginjo. The TAMA label drinks dry and focused on the palate while the nose reads unmistakably fruity — a structural contradiction most breweries in either tradition never attempt.