NV Minenohakubai King of Modern Light Junmai Ginjo Niigata (Blue) 750 ml

It took two years, more than 30,000 miles in the air, and 16 generations for one of the best sakes we’ve ever tasted to make it stateside. It was worth the wait. 

And once you take the first sip of this elegant, layered sake that has all the complexity of great Bordeaux blanc or Grand Cru Chablis, we know you’ll be every bit as in love as we are. It jumps from the glass with effusive aromas of farmer's market blueberry basket, mandarin blossoms, and spice, all of it underpinned with layers of fresh nectarine and spice, plus bright acidity and a long, chalky-mineral finish.

We first tasted this at the Niigata Sake No Jin festival in Japan. Marveling at the range of sakes on display, we were stopped dead in our tracks by the stunning packaging of the King of Modern Light. As beautiful as the bottles were, however, we were even more smitten with the sake itself.

King of Modern Light is unique in every way. It’s crafted from Gohyakumangoku rice which makes for a well-rounded gem. As a result, this tiny-production sake is mouthwatering and long on the palate, far brighter than almost every other one we've tasted before, and the perfect bottle to convince wine connoisseurs that world-class sake can be every bit as complex as the best of Burgundy. When our team here in Napa tasted what was literally the first bottle ever to be opened on American soil, they were speechless. 

Produced now by the 16th generation Mineno Hakubai Shuzo, we immediately knew that Wine Access members would fall for it just as hard as we had. So we asked the owner if it was exported to the United States. “We want to just keep it here,” he said. “We don’t make enough to export, and even if we did, we don’t know how it would be handled, if it will sit in a hot room or in the sun,” he explained. “This is our pride and joy, our family’s legacy. We are more than happy to sell it here.”

After we left Japan, we kept trying to convince the family to export a bit of it, only to be rebuffed each time. When we returned to the festival earlier this year, we made a beeline for the Minenohakubai table. The sake was as brilliant as ever, so we tried again to plead our case, but was met with the same refusal. 

After returning empty-handed yet again, We'd finally begun to make peace with the fact that the King of Modern light would never see these shores. Until one day my phone rang:  

“We’ll do it," he said.

VP of Wine Eduardo Dingler almost dropped the phone. The head brewer had appreciated our persistence. Between our last visit and his call, he had done his due diligence, and realized that Wine Access was the perfect partner to introduce his family’s sake to the United States. Between our unmatched provenance guarantee and the level of appreciation that our members have for the best wines in the world, he knew their sake would be in good hands.

It may have taken two years, but the sake that haunted us from the moment we first tasted it is finally stateside. We can’t wait to share it with you.