Takagi Shuzo, Yamagata
Reviewed in H2 2025

The dragon that bided its time now roars
TOCKY's report
Numata's report
Juyondai Soko
96
Close · 4 of 5 axes match
Viridian 2020 jikagumi (bottled straight off the press)
91
Close · 4 of 5 axes match
Jikon Nabari
89
Close · all 5 axes match
Hanaabi Miyamanishiki
89
Close · 4 of 5 axes match
Among the closest shapes (at most one axis off by one step), ordered by score. Re-reviews of the same sake are excluded and each brewery appears once. Where fewer than four qualify, the next closest shapes fill the gap.
From Juyondai, here's "Daigokujo Nama, Yamadanishiki from Banshu, Hyogo." Its defining trait is a sweetness and juicy fruit aroma that could be called the very epitome of nama genshu (unpasteurised, undiluted sake). A richly concentrated sweetness surges forward with the solid formation of a phalanx of Spartan soldiers. Having been aged for a year and a half at Tokki's, it arms itself with the complexity of rum raisin, caramel, and smoked cheese, making the assault of this dense dessert sake even more ferocious.