Do we ship to you?.
More wines available from Kikuhime
720ml
Bottle:
$282.00
BY or “Brew Year” references that unlike the extended aging for most Kikuhime this Daiginjo is released in the...
720ml
Bottle:
$245.10
$258.00
*Yokowa AAA Rated Yamada Nishiki milled to 50% *Normally the B.Y., or Brew Year, is aged for one year before release...
720ml
Bottle:
$142.50
$150.00
*Yokowa AAA Rated Yamada Nishiki milled to 50% *BY or “Brew Year” references that unlike the extended aging for...
720ml
Bottle:
$541.50
$570.00
The Kikuhime Kukurihime Daiginjo Sake is made from Yamadanishiki rice from Yokawa with a milling ratio of 50% and...
720ml
Bottle:
$42.00
The Kikuhime brewery goes against the grain. They choose to age their sakés for complexity rather than going for the...
More Details
Winery
Kikuhime
Vintage: 2008
2008 saw very high yields across wineries in much of the southern hemisphere, as a result of highly favorable climatic conditions. Although in many areas, these high yields brought with them something of a drop in overall quality, this could not be said for South Australia's wines, which were reportedly excellent. Indeed, the 2008 Shiraz harvest in South Australia is said to be one of the most successful in recent decades, and western Australia's Chardonnays are set to be ones to watch out for. New Zealand's Pinot Noir harvest was also very good, with wineries in Martinborough reportedly very excited about this particular grape and the characteristics it revealed this year.
Pinot Noir also grew very well in the United States, and was probably the most successful grape varietal to come out of California in 2008, with Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley delivering fantastic results from this grape. Elsewhere in United States, Washington State and Oregon had highly successful harvests in 2008 despite some early worries about frost.
However, it was France who had the best of the weather and growing conditions in 2008, and this year was one of the great vintages for Champagne, the Médoc in Bordeaux, Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence, with Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay grapes leading the way. Italy, too, shared many of these ideal conditions, with the wineries in Tuscany claiming that their Chianti Classicos of 2008 will be ones to collect, and Piedmont's Barberesco and Barolo wines will be recognized as amongst the finest of the past decade.
Country: Japan
For those looking for something a little different from their wines, then Japan is an ideal location to look to. The two key national drinks of the country – sake rice wine, and plum wine – are equally delicious, unique and aromatic, and are becoming more and more popular in the west as our fascination with this far east country continues to grow. Plum wines are made in a similar way to grape based wines, but the result is quintessentially Japanese, as they are aromatic, sweet and flavorful, whilst being light and utterly drinkable. Sake, too, is light and dry, an excellent accompaniment to Japanese cuisine, and contains as much variety and interesting features as any other type of wine. Both the plums and the rice required to make such drinks grow in a wide range of regions of Japan, and as such, each region has their own style, making them an interesting set of drinks to explore.