Amidst a growing trend to enhance sake's added value, a new proposal: Ice-Temperature Aging x Meursault Cask. Sake brand "°Ondo" to be exclusively launched on Makuake.

Izumise Co., Ltd. (Head office: Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto; Representative Director: Naotaka Totsuka), which operates over 50 specialized liquor e-commerce stores and handles new product development and web production for alcoholic beverages, will launch a new product from its sake brand "°Ondo" (Ondo), which redesigns sake around ice-temperature aging. The new product, "007 Meursault Cask −3℃ 2023 Junmai Daiginjo," will be available on the crowdfunding service "Makuake" starting April 6, 2026.

This product is manufactured by Honda Shoten Co., Ltd., a sake brewery in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, known for its "Ryoku" sake brand. It is a Junmai Daiginjo made from special A-grade Yamada Nishiki rice from Kanae, Yoshikawa-cho, Hyogo Prefecture, aged for two years at -3°C, and then further aged in a white wine barrel from Meursault, Burgundy. Out of a limited production of 280 bottles, 100 will be pre-sold.

Diversifying Sake Value: Proposing New Value Through Aging

In recent years, the sake market has seen an increase in high-priced products exceeding 10,000 yen and brands emphasizing added value through limited production methods, leading to a diversification of price ranges and ways to enjoy sake.

Amidst this trend, new value propositions through aging methods are gaining attention. Advances in temperature control technology have led to the emergence of sake adopting aging approaches different from traditional ones.

"°Ondo": A Brand Re-examining Sake from the Perspective of Temperature

°Ondo is a sake brand that reinterprets sake from the perspective of "temperature."

While traditional aging changes the color, aroma, and taste over time, it is also said to be unavoidable to experience effects such as oxidation and over-aging. °Ondo focuses on "ice-temperature" (hyo-on), a temperature range of 0°C to -5°C, just before water freezes.

By slowing down the aging process extremely gently without freezing, the brand aims for aging that maintains the aroma and transparency while refining the sake's umami.

Three-Stage Aging: Ice-Temperature Aging x Meursault Cask

"007 Meursault Cask −3℃ 2023 Junmai Daiginjo" undergoes a luxurious three-stage aging process, based on Junmai Daiginjo polished to 35% from special A-grade Yamada Nishiki rice produced in Kanae, Yoshikawa-cho, Hyogo Prefecture, known as the birthplace of Yamada Nishiki.

First Stage: Ice-Temperature Aging

Junmai Daiginjo is aged for approximately two years at -3°C.

This process refines the sake quality while suppressing oxidation and discoloration.

Second Stage: Meursault Cask Post-Aging

Post-aged for approximately five months in white wine barrels from Meursault, Burgundy, France, crafted by the producer "Pierre Bré."

This adds nuances of white flowers, nuts, and vanilla.

Third Stage: Re-Ice-Temperature Aging

Returned to an ice-temperature environment to balance the opened aromas and flavors.

Only 280 bottles of this product will be produced. 100 of them will be pre-sold on Makuake.

What is a Meursault Cask?

The barrels used for this product are white wine barrels that were used for aging "Meursault" white wine, produced by the prestigious Burgundy wine producer "Pierre Bré" from France. These barrels were used for wine aging for two vintages (approximately 16 months each), totaling 32 months.

The gentle breathing of the barrel creates nuances reminiscent of white flowers, nuts, and vanilla, adding depth to the aroma and flavor while maintaining the transparency of the sake.

*Pierre Bré: A Burgundy wine producer established in 1864. It operates both as a "domaine," cultivating grapes from its own vineyards and handling brewing, aging, and bottling, and as a "négociant," purchasing grapes and wine for brewing and sales.

Sake Brewery "Honda Shoten" and Sake Brand "Ryoku"

The manufacturing is handled by Honda Shoten Co., Ltd., a sake brewery in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture.

Founded in 1921 (Taisho 10), the Honda family, who had been involved in sake brewing as chief brewers of Banshu Toji since the Genroku period, started their own sake brewing business, giving birth to the "Ryoku" sake brand.

The brewery is known for its early efforts in brewing sake using sake-specific rice and producing Daiginjo sake, continuously undertaking new challenges in Banshu Himeji's sake brewing.

For brewing water, they use groundwater from the Ibo River, drawn from 103m underground. This soft water, with a hardness of 46, allows for gentle fermentation, making it suitable for Daiginjo brewed slowly at low temperatures, producing an elegant and transparent taste. For sake rice, they primarily use 'Yamada Nishiki' from Hyogo Prefecture's special A-grade region.

They have also been engaged in "ice-temperature aging" for about 40 years, exploring the possibilities of new aging expressions for sake.

Future Outlook

°Ondo will continue its efforts to explore the possibilities of aging design through temperature, aiming to propose new aging expressions of sake to sake fans and wine enthusiasts both domestically and internationally.

[Makuake Project Page]

https://www.makuake.com/project/ondo-007/

[Project Overview]

Format: Crowdfunding (Support Purchase Service "Makuake")

Period: April 6, 2026 (Mon) 11:00 to May 10, 2026 (Sun) 22:00

Pre-sale quantity: 100 bottles (Total production: 280 bottles)

Planned general sale price: 38,500 yen (tax included)

*Makuake offers 5 types of returns with up to a 20% discount.

Estimated product delivery: Mid-May 2026 onwards

[Sake Brand °Ondo Online Shop]

https://ondosake.com/

[Company Overview]

Company Name: Izumise Co., Ltd.

Representative Director: Naotaka Totsuka

Location: Nippon Life Shijo Building 7F, 60 Tateuri Nishimachi, Higashitoin Higashi-iru, Shijo-dori, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto

URL: https://www.izumise.co.jp/

[Contact for this press release]

Izumise Co., Ltd. Contact: Yokota

TEL: 075-255-6112

MAIL: hi@ondosake.com