Shio Ume is packed with plum, salt and savoury notes - and a hint of mushroom umami on the finish.
Salt brings out the flavour of plum; for Shio Ume, the brewers use the traditional salt-making method featuring "Umi no Sei", a type of salt full of natural minerals. Added pinch of natural sea salt brings a depth into this tasty plum wine.
Drink: on the rocks, with fruit salad or use it in cocktails
The plum wine is nicely brewed, amber in colour, clear and crystalline. It comes in a translucent frosted bottle, which gives it a gentle and tranquil feel. On the nose, it has an aroma of plums mixed with nuts (similar to almonds). On the palate, it has a fruity sweetness and softness with the intensity of the wine. The two flavours are blended together in a particularly intoxicating way. I drank this wine on a summer evening in London, with the early summer evening breeze. There is a Chinese poem that came to mind when I was drinking this wine: 'The wind makes the spring warbler chicks grow, the summer rains make the plums fat, and the shade envelops the ground in the round under the dense trees'.(Chinese:风老莺雏,雨肥梅子,午阴嘉树清圆。Japanese: 風は古くて若く、雨はふっくらと降り、午後の陰は立派な木々でいっぱいです。)
Tasted this with the Ebisu Fuku Ume to contrast the two. This has an interesting salty honeyed aroma. Lovely combination of plum and cherry to taste, with a real depth of flavour. With only 7% alcohol, it would be a very good alternative to stronger liqueurs and works nicely with ice.