In recent years, a subtle crossover has emerged between two worlds traditionally kept distinct: French Champagne and Japanese sake.

Prominent Champagne cellar masters, whose careers flourished in the cellars of Reims and Épernay, have turned their gaze eastward toward the craft of sake brewing. These include Richard Geoffroy—formerly the Chef de Cave of Dom Pérignon—and Régis Camus, famed for his stewardship of the renowned Piper-Heidsieck.

You could make a case that high end sake and Champagne have some shared values: terroir expression, attention to food pairing and purity of flavour. But there are also more pragmatic trends that underpin this shift.

The global wine and Champagne market has become mature and intensely competitive, leaving minimal room for brand-creation and risk-taking. Meanwhile, while mass-produced sake is facing a decline in Japan, Western investors are still eyeing luxury sake as a relatively uncrowded segment, offering “so much space, as long as you go for it and get things right,” as Richard Geoffroy observed in an interview.

Asia’s market for luxury products has also been growing. If you can make a luxury sake and sell it to China, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and dare we say, back to Japan, you’ve cracked a loop.

Learn how to decode sake labels here.

There is also a sense that traditional sake breweries, for all their craftsmanship, have not fully capitalised on the opportunity to build a global luxury brand. Kanji-only labels, confusing product lines and little to no storytelling haven’t been helpful in making sakes more accessible to foreigners. Geoffroy had tactfully noted that many Japanese sake brewers spend their lives only focused on craft and may come across “a little complacent”.

A partnership with Champagne veterans is seen to be beneficial for traditional Japanese brewers as well. Geoffroy and Camus focus on creating internationally recognised sake brands with a certain sleek, cosmopolitan image that Japanese breweries might never have pursued on their own. Most sake brewers are also incredibly modest – it's just not in their nature to be self-promoting.

Régis Camus’ transition from the cellars of Piper-Heidsieck to working with the quiet, rural breweries of Japan, exemplifies a successful marriage of French branding and blending know-how, and Japanese brewing tradition. Camus is, after all, the genius behind Piper-Heidsieck’s rise over the past two decades.

It was under Camus that the Champagne house began receiving unprecedented critical acclaim, winning numerous high-profile awards with Camus himself being named Sparkling Winemaker of the Year an extraordinary eight times by the International Wine Challenge over the course of a 9 year period (from 2004 to 2013). Camus also revitalised Piper-Heidsieck's prestige cuvée Rare, making it a consistent, highly acclaimed ultra-premium product line. After having achieved every conceivable honour in Champagne, Camus began stepping back from day-to-day duties to explore new projects.

In 2016, Régis Camus co-founded HeavenSake as a Franco-Japanese sake brand with a concept of creating Junmai sakes (pure rice sakes with no added alcohol) brewed by top Japanese breweries, with Camus himself blending the final expressions.

Camus essentially serves as the “master blender” (or maître d’assemblage) obtaining base sakes from breweries, then blending them to create a unique house style. This process treats sake like Champagne, where one blends different vintages to achieve balance and consistency.

Camus also hoped to redefine the sake experience and present it in a way that brings a touch of French ‘Joie de Vivre’ the art of Japanese sake. Visually, HeavenSake bottles embrace a minimalist, chic design: distinguished by a primary colour label (Noir, Orange, Azur) without any heavy text. The overall aesthetic feels more like a fashion-forward perfume brand than a classic sake label.

HeavenSake then teamed up with four top breweries: Asahi Shuzo (the maker of Dassai), Urakasumi, Katsuyama, and Konishi Brewing​. The breweries would produce batches with slight differences – say, different yeast or rice polishing – and Camus tastes and blends them the same way he did for Champagne vins clairs.

Today, we had the opportunity join Master Sake Sommelier Joshua Kalinan – the Regional Brand Manager of HeavenSake – to have a taste ourselves of two of their flagship bottlings: the Label Azur Junmai Ginjo and the Label Orange Junmai Daiginjo.

Heaven Sake (Katsuyama) Label Azur Junmai Ginjo, 15.5% ABV – Review

The Label Azur is HeavenSake’s Junmai Ginjo expression, created in partnership with the historic Katsuyama Brewery of Sendai. Katsuyama was established in 1688 and originally brewed sake exclusively for the feudal lords of the Sendai Domain (the realm of the famous samurai Date Masamune).

Katsuyama specialises in junmai sakes of the highest grade and prides itself on using extremely meticulous brewing methods to produce sake with “clean, clear umami” – a balance of rich savoury notes and clarity that makes their sakes pair beautifully with a variety of cuisines​.

It is reportedly the only brewery in Japan that produces one single tank of sake per week , due to its use of traditional methods that maximise quality while providing very low yields.

For instance, it uses the shizuku drip-pressing technique, even for their entry-level sakes. This labour-intensive method places fermented mash in a suspended canvas bags and waits for the sake to drip out slowly under its own weight without applied pressure. This gentle extraction process yields a very delicate sake, but also requires an incredibly long brewing time.

| Read more about Katsuyama Sake’s story here.

Two varieties of premium sake rice are used – the fruity and floral Yamadanishiki and the milder, more terroir-forward Hitomebore. The Label Azur is also crafted with a lighter and drier profile relative to the other bottligns from HeavenSake.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Rich, rounded, clean, and a distinctly rice-forward earthy sweetness joined by a gentle sweetness reminiscent of ripe honeydew melon.

Palate: Really fresh and expressive on the palate, opening with vivid, juicy notes of fresh, sweet Saturn peaches and melons, even if it is fairly straightforward in flavour profile. The texture is lush and velvety and coats the mouth generously.

Finish: Soft and dry, the finish introduces subtle citrus notes as the sweetness of Saturn peaches slowly fades. A prominent mineral quality lingers well beyond each sip.

My Thoughts:

The clarity and crystalline nature of this sake really stands out. It’s notably very clean, without the yeasty aromas typically associated with junmai ginjo. Its aromas are really fruity and yet balanced—not overly sweet, perhaps thanks to the blend of Yamadanishiki and Hitomebore rice. Particularly interesting is the long, mineral-driven finish, possibly connected to the brewery’s water source.

This sake reminds me somewhat of Katsuyama’s own Junmai Ginjo “KEN,” though here the expression feels cleaner and slightly sharper in its crystalline purity. It’s impressive how long the finish is with sweetness lingering impressively, giving way to dryness only at the very end.

Heaven Sake (Urakasumi) Label Orange Junmai Daiginjo, 16.3% ABV – Review

Urakasumi is another highly respected brewery operated by the Saura family in Miyagi Prefecture, founded in 1724, with over 300 years of unbroken history.

The name “Urakasumi” means “Misty Bay,” inspired by an ancient poem about the scenic bay in the brewery’s hometown of Shiogama. Since medieval times and to this day, Urakasumi has been holding a prestigious role: it brews omiki, a sacred sake offered to deities during Shinto rituals at the nearbv Shiogama Shrine.

Camus with President Koichi Saura of Urakasumi Shuzo.

The brewery is also known for its innovativeness and contribution to yeast development – their house yeast was so prized for its fragrant ginjo-ka (ginjo aromatics) that it was registered as Association Yeast No. 12 (also called “Urakasumi yeast”) by the Brewing Society of Japan in 1985. This yeast strain produces lovely floral and fruity notes and has been adopted by many other breweries across Japan.

The brewery is currently led by president Koichi Saura, who represents the 13th generation of the family. Its flagship products, such as the Urakasumi Zen, are regarded as exemplars of classic Miyagi-style sake: soft, smooth, and elegant with a subtle umami underpinning.

For Label Orange, Régis Camus collaborated with Urakasumi to craft a junmai daiginjo that is rooted in the brewery’s style. In fact, HeavenSake’s Label Orange blended is based on Urakasumi’s Zen but with three other sakes from the brewery to layer on complexity.

The sake is made withy highly polished Yamadanishiki rice and a local Miyagi rice variety called Kura no Hana, noted for its gentler aromatics. It is also brewed using two yeasts proprietary to Urakasumi including the famous Kyokai 12. In crafting this sake, Camus appears to focus on a rich but also drier profile that evokes a white wine.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Fresh, and vividly fruity. Opens with ripe melon and lychees, complemented by a subtle, gentle creamy vanilla sweetness. Just a touch of cedar.

Palate: Fresh, clean, and layered, with the texture really rich and velvety. Opens with a balanced sweetness of rice pudding and a robust, just-as-present dry, distinctly karakuchi profile. Moderate acidity recalling red apples and quince plus a crisp minerality that reminds me of a green Chenin Blanc.

Finish: It’s got a remarkably dry and long-lasting finish. Soft, creamy vanilla notes resurface gently, accompanied by a delicate cedar-like character that lingers comfortably well beyond the sip.

My Thoughts:

This has an memorable combination of both richness and dryness. The moderate rice pudding sweetness is quite satisfying and well-balanced. The palate unfolds very gracefully and evenly on the palate in a subtle but evident way, turning from rice pudding to fresh green fruit notes alongside a clear minerality and persistent dryness.

What sets Label Orange apart is how distinctly it amplifies Urakasumi’s elegance with Camus’s wine-influenced blending approach. It seems that Camus has created a somewhat austere structure, lending a noticeable dryness and firmer backbone than is typically found in daiginjo sakes. This gives it a resemblance to a white Burgundy or Chenin Blanc, particularly in its acidic structure and crisp dryness. Despite this, it remains balanced, approachable, and very drinkable. It’s an excellent companion to food, similar to how one would pair seafood with a white wine.

Final Thoughts

While Camus has earned his credentials in Champagne, his work with sakes would have its own challenges too. An important distinction between sake and Champagne is that while wines often benefit from extended cellaring to soften or integrate their structure, sake is crafted to be consumed immediately upon release. Sake is expected to be immediately balanced, drinkable and complete at bottling. There's no room to hide behind the idea that the beverage will improve significantly with age. And from this tasting, it's easy to conclude that Camus has done a great job with these two bottles.

I appreciate how pure and notably flavourful both these sakes are—a combination that is surprisingly uncommon in sake (either too sweet or too light). If you're a wine lover, you'll likely recognise and appreciate the precision behind the blending here, particularly in how each sake remains approachable yet still sufficiently challenging thanks to a very balanced acidity and distinct dryness.

That being said, HeavenSake’s concept of a “top sake brewer” appears somewhat narrowly defined, emphasising only the refined junmai daiginjo or notably clean junmai ginjo styles. It would be interesting to see whether they might someday venture beyond these constraints, perhaps collaborating with breweries known for funkier, bolder, more expressive styles, those of the same movement as Akishika Shuzo or Terada Honke.

@CharsiuCharlie