Monday, October 1, 2018

Issue LX: Moonstone Asian Pear Sake Edition


Moonstone Asian Pear Sake

Going away from the reds and more traditional grape wines for a bit, we have this delightful entries. Sake is one of my most favorite comfort wines and I will happily knock through it, nice and warm (never actually hot) nearly anytime, including summer, even if the sake isn’t all that great. It is the first thing I reach for when I’m ill and if there is a wine that transcends the HSC list in general, it is this type, as I loved it from the jump and have never stopped. It is one my wife (see earliest posts of this blog) does not seem to have any great fondness for, so it operates largely outside of the list.
Sake, with fermented rice as the base, has its own distinct character and variations, much like the appellations of the other wines here. This particular one is very light and fruity and could function well as a dessert wine. To my regret, a number of the liquor stores around don’t stock it and it’s one I have to be somewhat careful not to buy large amounts of, as I will happily consume it and keep going. The Momokawa (another excellent sake) is the base for the Moonstones and this one, to me, adds just enough of a light splash of Pear for it to be named that, but is definitely harder leaning towards sake rather than a fruity drink. 

Moonstone is clearly intending this to be closer to a dessert wine, perhaps thinking more wine cooler, with the ad description: “Imagine reaching up and picking a perfectly ripe pear off the tree, chilling it down and enjoying it simple and clean.” This description, incidentally, is somewhat false and really stretching, best case. This definitely does hit the Asian pear notes, though, which are much more subtle and lighter than the regular Bartlett pears, for instance. Light, refreshing and very satisfying, definitely one of my all-around favorites…somewhat dangerously so, though I suspect if I actually just went for it with a bottle, I probably would tire of the taste somewhat quickly.

As with all non-red wines, the usual rating scale does not apply here. I will say that this, like a number of sakes available, is very moderately priced, usually between $ 12 - $14 a bottle for this one. Unquestionably, well worth that.