Yonetsuru are an unsung hero in the Japanese sake world. This bottling is made from a rice variety only used for the production of sake, named Dewanosato. It produces a rich, pillowy sake that is all about savouriness and umami - think seaweed, almonds, creamy yeast and button mushrooms. Still very bright and fresh, with solid acidity balancing the sweetness.

Yonetsuru (which translates as "Grateful Crane") Brewery was founded all the way back in 1704, in Takahata - a town in the southern part of the Yamagata Prefecture, about 300km north of Tokyo. In the late Edo period, the brewery was the personal property of the Uesugi clan, the region’s feudal lords, and produced sake under the stewardship of the Umezu family. The brewery is still managed by the same family - Yoichiro Umezu, the 12th generation president, took the brewery’s helm in 2007. Yonetsuru is especially known for their focus on the rice as used in sake (whereas many other breweries focus on the water). They are one of the few breweries in the region to grow their own rice. They were instrumental in establishing the "Takahata Sake Rice Group", focussed on new rice varieties in 1983. As a result of its activities, the group has developed a new, original rice variety suitable for sake brewing named "Kissui" - one of the few to be developed in the last 100 years. Yep, they're all about the rice!