Aging Sake - An Experiment

Today, I began a little experiment, to see how sake ages. The sake of choice is the Jun Tenzan Tokubetsu Junmai, produced by Saga Prefecture's Tenzan Shuzo. Unfortunately, the bottles do not have the bottling date on them, but the case appears to have been shipped recently. Will update as I can.


Saga Saikai No. 134 milled to 60%, SMV +2, acidity 1.8, 15% abv. As a baseline note, this sake is almost paradoxically balanced, being both full and light, clean but with plenty of flavour, sweet with a sour-dry finish. In a word, satisfying.

A quick pre-experiment with an open bottle demonstrated that sake freezes readily and quickly, with a marked, deleterious change in flavour, so that result will guide the rest of the experiment. Six bottles have been placed in our refrigerator, at a constant temperature of 3°C (37.4°F). The remainder have been put into our passive cellar, in the below-ground basement of our home. The temperature there varies between 13°C (~55.4°F) in the winter and 21°C (~70°F) in the summer.

I intend to open and compare a pair of bottles according to the following schedule:

~ 15 December, 2010 (1 Year)
~ 15 December, 2011 (2 Years)
~ 15 December, 2012 (3 Years)
~ 15 December, 2014 (5 Years)
~ 15 December, 2019 (10 Years)
~ 15 December, 2029 (20 Years)

Assuming the internet is still around at each of these times, I'll post new notes.