It was the turn of the millennium, with much anticipation abound about what the next 1,000 years of the world would bring with it - of course, much of that anticipation would crest just within the first year alone, before it became life as it was pre-millennium. But that anticipation and tenseness certainly was palpable, it almost felt like change was necessary - it just had to happen, surely things had to be different. And at the Daitokuji temple in Kyoto, the seeds of big changes were just being sowed in one Richard Geoffroy - big changes that would have to wait 18 more years, but would certainly prove to shake things up in a category that carried with it two millenniums of heritage. Dining on a fare of Buddhist vegetarian cuisine, Richard would be served what he calls "the most extraordinary Sake from a jar", an experience that would stir a deep curiosity and passion in him that would stick for the next two decades. Yet somehow, he never quite found out what the Sake was in the jar, nor which brewery made it.

 

A life in three acts for Richard Geoffroy.

 

Richard (pronounced Ree-shard, as it is in French) had just been appointed chef de cave (equivalent of Head Winemaker or Cellar Master, and who helms a Champagne house) of arguably Champagne's most prestigious name - Dom Perignon - just 4 years prior. Rather predictable even for Richard's liking even. He had been born in Vertus, of the Cote de Blancs region of Champagne, France, to a family of winegrowers - his father had even served as the President of the Champagne Growers' Union. And so a path in Champagne, the world's beloved bubbly, seemed alittle too pre-destined and orchestrated. With the blessing of his father, who had really much preferred his children take on more conventional jobs, Richard would thus pursue his studies in Medicine. Yet, it wouldn't last long. Within months upon graduating, Richard would make a sharp U-turn back into what almost seemed in his blood, and would thus join Moet & Chandon as a winemaker. He never even got to practice as a doctor. 

Richard would thus spend much of his young adulthood travelling the world to gain as much winemaking experience as possible to make up for his rather unconventional medical background - he would take on harvests in California, US, France, Australia, New Zealand, Spain and Portugal. He did so at an unbelievable intensity, running four vintages a year for six years straight. By 1990, he would return home to Champagne, to apprentice directly under Dominique Foulon, Dom Perignon's then chef de cave. By 1996, Richard would take on the mantle.

 

 

The next two decades (and 23 vintages) would see Richard spend much of his life embodying the very essence of Dom Perignon. When he wasn't in the cellars, he was on the road, travelling from market to market promoting the Champagne whose name is taken eponymously from the late-17th century Benedictine monk of the same name, and who was said to have made significant strides in the realms of winemaking as the Cellar Master of the Abbey of Hautvillers. It was during those years that Richard would regularly find himself landing in Japan - he counts over 100 visits during the period - where he would of course constantly be exposed to Japan's Sake. By 2015, having now served the legendary Champagne house for a full two decades, Richard would begin to seriously think about the third act of his life (as he says it, Medicine was a brief first, and Champagne a prolonged second). Having reached the highest echelons of winemaking, he wanted nothing to do with wines, and yet at the same time wanted to be sure that whatever he had set his mind and energy to would be a good and unique match to his skillset - it was certainly not going to be a matter of force-fitting. 

 

"I was ready to take on a new project that would keep me stimulated and inspired. I couldn’t imagine spending my life dedicated to winemaking anymore and I was hoping to move on to something different enough. I wanted to work on something close enough to be wine without it being wine. And voila! Sake is it in so many ways.”

 

 

Come 2019, Richard was ready to announce his highly anticipated decision - it would have to be Sake. The transformation was profound yet quick for Dom Perignon's longest serving chef de cave - in June 2019, Richard would take one last bow at a farewell ceremony in the very spiritual home of Dom Perignon, the Hautvillers Abbey (where the monk Dom Perignon himself had lived, worked, and was buried), and by November of the same year, he would be graced as a newcomer to the world of Sake-making at a Shinto ceremony held at the foothills of Japan's Toyoma Bay as he broke ground on his new Sake kura (or brewery).

Yet this moment was far from easy to make a reality - once Richard had decided that his third act was to be Sake (he had considered Spanish Sherry, which he believed shared the same drinkability and versatility with food as Champagne and Sake, and yet ultimately decided that Sake and Champagne had more in common), he had set out in search of any means by which he could quickly gain hands-on experience working with Sakes, to which he could find none. Exacerbating that was the fact that Japan had not granted a new Sake brewing license in over 50 years, as it sought to ensure that an oversupply would not occur; a serious possibility given Sake's declining local popularity and population - the past 50 years would see 2,500 brewery closures, with now just 1,200 Sake breweries remaining. Visits to numerous breweries was met with rejection, that was until a night out with friend and once-collaborator from Richard's time at LVMH (which owns Dom Perignon), acclaimed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma (famed for designing the Japan National Stadium and the Suntory Museum of Art, both in Tokyo, and also the LVMH Group's Japan HQ, amongst other notable works), who offered to connect Richard with Ryuichiro Masuda, the owner of Toyama Prefecture's highly regarded Masuizumi Brewery. Masuda is the fifth-generation owner of his family's 132 year old Sake brewery, and was himself a big wine lover and collector, and who embraced innovation and new ideas. "We visited Masuda for the weekend, and surprisingly, he was pretty easy to convince. I realised he had a really clear, analytical view of his own industry, which can come across as a little complacent." says Richard.

 

Ryuichiro Masuda.

 

Belying the seeming ease by which Richard had found a partner in Masuda was as well worked out a thesis as you'd expect from a who had spent close to half his life at the helm of one of the world's greatest wine producers - Richard had spotted a niche in the practice of Sake that posed a gap too compelling to resist. In the decades that Richard had engaged with Sakes, not the least of which was under the guidance of Shinya Tasaki, crowned Best Sommelier in the World in 1995, who had introduced Richard to the world of Sakes via various stylistic flights, Richard had encountered a disjoint - on the one hand, Sakes, like Champagne, was immensely drinkable, and on the other, was almost entirely produced in a single batch, thereby resulting in the production of a single style for any particular expression.

“Sake making has been the project of perfecting a single brew for one thousand years or so. Early on, I humbly figured out that one had to push the envelope further to achieve greater balance and complexity; that blending IWA 5 was the one answer, alongside the existing levers of rice polishing and bottle maturation,” says Richard.

 

 

In Richard's journey as a Sake drinker, he had observed that he would often find a Sake offering much in aromatics and yet not possessing the body or finish to keep up that high point. Sakes were also often too sweet or bitter for his liking, which he believed came down to simply lacking in balance. With the popularity of karakuchi style (an extra-dry) Sakes that emphasised a clean taste and crisp finish, Richard had begin wondering how he would instead create a Sake that could offer a worthy length as it ended off. A blender at heart (Richard was quoted as saying "If you give me water, I’m pretty sure that I’d start blending water: it’s a compulsive thing. I blend my orange juice at breakfast."), he had "looked at the liquid and saw it could be possibly [his] signature. Assemblage is the answer." Richard would go on to explain "The name of the game in assemblage is balance and complexity. Balance is a magical thing, allowing richness, intensity and substance to levitate." For Richard, it seemed like a match made in heaven, that his penchant for blending could perhaps produce the very Sake that he had idealised.

Even putting aside production traditions, Sakes were also largely shaped to be paired with Japanese cuisine in mind, with therefore an equivalent focus on the domestic market (95% of Sakes produced in Japan is consumed locally) - if interest in Sakes was declining in Japan, why shouldn't Sakes be made more international? After all, the demand for Sakes outside of Japan was gaining new heights every single year! To add to that singular focus on the home market, Richard had found that most Sake brewers had a deep cultural inertia towards self-promotion on a global stage, which inevitably (and perhaps unintentionally) has led to a situation where customers outside of Japan were clamouring for Sakes, whilst Sakes remained elusive and foreign to the world outside (most Sake bottles hardly contain a single line of English text, and are almost always entirely worded in the Japanese language).

 

 

The argument was a deeply convincing one that resonated with Masuda. Richard would thus propose the creation of a premium Sake, larger than a boutique yet smaller than commercial production, that would be designed for worldwide appeal, and would tap on Richard's experience in utilising assemblage - the traditional method of blending wines in the building of a Champagne cuvee. The resulting Sake would be one that carried a depth of the body that would persist beyond the initial aromatics, with also a long and memorable finish, with a flavour profile that could be paired internationally with any cuisine. "I want an equilibrium, a balance between nose and palate. I want more fragrant, vibrant, luminous, radiant aromatics. The finish is crucial. I spend so much time working on the quality of the finish, integrating all the components of taste and sapidity and umami together." says Richard.

 

Acclaimed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and Australian industrial designer would share in the project, adding to the collaboration their expertise in designing the brewery and the IWA Sake bottle.

 

Masuda had seen the vision and the promise and was on board. And just like his wines (and now Sakes), Richard would have to proverbially just as much create an assemblage of stakeholders who could together realise this dream. He would enlist the expertise of Kuma in designing the kura's building, whilst Marc Newson (famed Australian industrial designer who worked alongside Jony Ive in shaping Apple's designs) would set about creating the Sake bottle to be used, with the goal of being a Sake open to the international arena and forgoing the traditional Japanese character labels - ultimately this culminated in a unique matte black bottle without a label and simply emblazoned with the brushstrokes that spell out IWA 5 Sake of Japan, with finally Charles-Antoine Picart (who worked alongside Richard at Dom Perignon as Business Development Director for Asia Pacific) who would serve as CEO of the project.

Whilst the search went on for a suitable site for the brewery, Richard would immediately delve headfirst into working closely with Masuda in creating the various components of the Sake blend, and then piecing it together. They would conclude on the use of Sakes made from 3 primary rice varieties - Yamada Nishiki (the best known and most prestigious of Sake rice, or sakamai), Gohyakumangoku (the second best known sakamai), and Omachi (a fast gaining, more artisanal and ancestral sakamai), brewed with two different yeast starters (the classic Sokujo, and the ancestral Kimoto) and 5 different yeast strains (two of which are wine yeasts), with the rice all polished to a ratio of 35% (that is, 35% of the original rice grain remains after polishing). Explaining the deliberate choices made, Richard would explain, "Yamada Nishiki brings a ‘spine’, a drive to the sake; Omachi brings a lush mouthfeel; and Gohyakumangoku wraps everything together", whilst also adding that he had wanted to keep rice polishing at 35% to qualify the Sake as a Junmai Daiginjo (the highest tier of Sake classification) to bring out maximum aromatics, and yet refuses to go any lower which he deems as being "overpolished".

 

 

The first impressions of the Sake-making practice came in hot and quick - "At Dom Pérignon, I thought Champagne making was the most complex process in wine, but I think sake beats it." Richard was quoted as saying. This certainly did not go down well with his once fraternity of Champagne-makers. And yet Richard would press on in saying "There are more technical options in making sake than in making Champagne, from microbiology, yeasts, the bacteria, koji, to water. This is not something you can argue. It’s a fact. Coming from a science and medical background, I’m used to stating things as they are, and I feel comfortable with making such a statement," further stating that "There are so many variables. It is an option game." and that "You couldn’t do it out of a book", resigning himself to the likely possibility of having to "keep experimenting forever". 

 

 

By 2020, the site of the brewery would be finalised, with the team deciding upon the serene countryside of Shiraiwa in the Toyama Prefecture of central Japan. According to Richard, beyond the fact that his Sake brewing partner, Masuizumi, was located in the Toyama Prefecture, the team had also wanted a place that was "a lesser-known part of Japan - rural and pastoral, connected to nature." They would thus call their Sake, IWA 5 Sake of Japan (or simply IWA Sake), having taken its name from its location, Shiraiwa, which itself can be translated as "White Rock" (with "Iwa" itself translating as "Rock"), whilst the "5" in the name is a reference to the 5 types of yeasts used in the Sake assemblage, signalling its character as one of many components.

Whilst Richard had initially thought that perhaps he would makes the first iterations of IWA Sake at a partner Sake brewery up until it had proven its worth, and then perhaps the team would be justified in taking it to the next level and giving the project it's own brewery, Richard had ultimately believed that a blank canvas was indeed necessary. Touching on the concept of terroir, Richard had remained unconvinced that the terroir of Sake had as much to do with the land the rice grains came from as perhaps the making of the Sake itself. "Some people talk about terroir but polish the rice to the utmost extent and remove any terroir. The pure starch element of the rice can’t be fermented until it has been converted to fermentable sugars. I don’t see an element of terroir in this. [Yet] there is no such thing as two identical layouts in Japan’s sake breweries, and when you add the macrobiology of the place, the bacteria in the preparation, the wild bacteria - a lot of this is terroir. The microbiological ambience of the brewery has a big impact. I’m sure there’s an impact of rice variety, but I’m not sure about weighting the elements of terroir." explains Richard. And thus with the backing of several local financiers and the help of Masuda, the IWA Sake team was able to gain a license to brew Sake in its own dedicated brewery, even going so far as to own nearly 10 hectares of land which has then been leased back to the original farmers from whom the brewery purchases its rice from. 

 

With its back facing the Tateyama Mountains and the front facing Toyama Bay, the IWA Sake brewery resides amidst fields of rice.

 

Whilst famed architect and founding partner Kengo Kuma set about bringing the kura to life, reinterpreting the traditional Japanese gassho-zukuri farmhouse (particularly of those at Gokayama, a UNESCO World Heritage Site) as a sleek, modern and minimalist communal space where diversity could thrive, Richard would go on to produce the first three expressions of IWA Sake (Assemblage 1, Assemblage 2 and Assemblage 3) at Masuizumi Brewery, with the second and third cuvee having to be done from his home in France due to the Covid pandemic. Each Assemblage was kept small, totalling just around 1,000 cases. Incidentally, the onset of the pandemic had resulted in a second major stylistic realisation for Richard - he had observed that contrary to the traditional freshness effect that is desired by Sake-makers for their consumers, which sees Sakes typically enjoyed young, the IWA Sake had instead aged well in the bottle, creating deeper and better married flavours. Whilst aged Sakes were once popular some one hundred years ago, and continues to exist in a small niche even today, it is by and large not the norm. "Blending and bottle maturation are not really traditional to sake-making, and yet in the end, the goal is to achieve something within the sake orthodoxy. I’m trying to push the parameters through what I would call rather unconventional means, yet to achieve a grand sake." says Richard, even going so far as to tout the possibility of IWA's Sake being able to be aged for possibly up to 10 years.

 

 

By 2021, the IWA Sake brewery was complete. Just under an hour's drive out from the nearest Toyama Station, the brewery sits at the foothills of where the Tateyama mountain ranges meet the coastline to Toyama Bay. From afar, the kura looks somewhat nondescript, mirroring the traditional Japanese thatched roof farmhouse aesthetic, yet up close, it exudes an intensity when it becomes obvious that the roof is made entirely of steel, along with floor to ceiling glass panes that allows one to see directly into the inner workings of the brewery.

The layout inside is furnished with charred cedar, with the walls covered in traditional washi paper incorporating rice grains from the surrounding rice paddies, and is designed to prioritise horizontality, seeking to meld numerous activities all under a single roof. Its most prominent feature is the central Doma - inspired by the traditional Japanese irori which takes the form of a sunken hearth where communities gather around to socialise. The central Doma is where Richard does the work of assemblage, selecting from over 40 different Sake components to isolate 12-15 Sakes which are then blended in specific proportions in the steel tanks behind the Doma. These steel tanks are even said to resemble the Buddha statues of Kyoto's Sanjusangendou. On the second level are the wooden Shubo, Motobeya and Koji rooms where the yeast starters are made, and the various varieties of rice are inoculated and fermented, before they are subsequently brewed in the tanks on the first level. Living quarters flank these essential rooms on the second floor providing the team a place to rest during the laborious brewing season where constant monitoring is required - adhering to traditional Japanese Sake-making practices, IWA produces Sakes only once a year during winter.

 

 

From inside the brewery, one can feel the deep contrast between the human activities taking place inside, focused on heavily manipulating the raw ingredients harvested from nature, and then on the outside, the uncontrolled and larger than life wilderness that is nature. For Richard, this ability to view both sea and mountain, whilst also being surrounded by the raw ingredients the kura relies upon was exactly what was needed.

And thus it is here that Richard has crafted the Assemblages since the initial three done at Masuizumi Brewery - thus far Assemblage 6 - and has since also worked out the top end IWA Reserves, which is only bottled in 1.8L bottles and holds a blend of aged Sakes, much as a Champagne house would hold back reserve wines each harvest. Today IWA's Sake-making is led by seasoned Toji Masato Yabuta, who is part of the Tamba Toji Guild, whilst Richard focuses on the assemblage.

 

Richard with Giacomo Pallesi of Angra Wine & Spirit at 67 Pall Mall Singapore.

 

It was only fitting that after spending so long tracing Richard Geoffroy’s journey into sake, we would eventually find ourselves seated across from the man himself–right here in Singapore's 67 Pall Mall club. There is something quietly surreal about listening to Richard speak in person. This is not a retirement project, not a vanity diversion, but a full-bodied third act driven by purpose. He opened the session by revisiting what drew him into sake in the first place; a strange combination of crisis and opportunity.

 

 

In Japanese sake he found something that French wine, for all its history and romance, could no longer offer him: total creative freedom. If you respect the four classical ingredients–rice, koji, water, yeast–you can essentially rethink the architecture of a sake from the ground up. There are no appellations hemming you in, no regulatory frameworks dictating what you may or may not attempt. “In sake,” he told us, “the market, not the regulations, decides whether your idea is valid.”

There is a structural crisis that sake finds itself in today. Richard laid out the numbers plainly, almost like a physician calmly delivering a diagnosis: production has plunged by two-thirds over the last fifty years; the number of active breweries has collapsed from 3,700 to just about 1,200; exports account for a mere seven per cent of total output; and younger Japanese drink astonishingly little sake.

 

 

For Richard, the way forward isn’t about nostalgia or cultural preservation for its own sake. He insists that the revival of sake can only happen at the highest level–by elevating quality and building a global audience. Sake must matter outside Japan if it is ever to matter again within Japan. “If the world becomes excited about premium sake,” he says, “the Japanese may rediscover pride in it.”

That is where IWA enters the picture, and where Richard’s thinking becomes most compelling. IWA, he emphasises, must be deeply rooted in Japanese tradition–honouring method, seasonality, rice, and craft–yet it cannot be constrained by a purely domestic palate. It must work with non-Japanese cuisines, with bolder, more forceful flavours; it must have reach.

 

 

How IWA achieves this is an unprecedented approach. Every bottle of IWA (except the Reserve) is built from no fewer than 20 Junmai Daiginjo component sakes– each brewed with a different rice variety, slightly different polishing ratios, different yeast strains (including wine yeasts). The result is an assemblage philosophy lifted directly from Champagne and transplanted, for the first time, into sake.

On top of that, IWA sakes undergo roughly 20 months of bottle ageing–double the industry norm–and are designed to continue maturing gracefully for ten to fifteen years. This stands in stark contrast to the traditional view that sake must be consumed young. Yes, aged sake (koshu) exists, but it occupies a niche. IWA’s approach reintroduces the idea of longevity in a contemporary, polished form, more akin to Champagne’s extended lees ageing than to the oxidative styles of historical koshu.

With Richard leading the class, we worked our way through the full evolution of IWA’s Assemblages:

• IWA 5 Assemblage 2
• IWA 5 Assemblage 3
• IWA 5 Assemblage 4
• IWA 5 Assemblage 5
• IWA 5 Assemblage 6
• IWA 5 Older Reserves

Sake Review: IWA 5 Assemblage 2

 

Nose: Clean, taut lift that feels almost crystalline, with a subtle savoury depth beneath the bright fruit surface. That clarity is shaped by a gentle honeyed glow that rises first before I notice the earthy undertone of shiitake. The aroma is focused and pure, with a light rice perfume giving it a soft grainy edge, and the combination of those elements makes the overall profile feel quietly aromatic. As it sits, the honeyed note gains a touch more breadth while the mushroom character becomes more defined.

Palate: Immediate sense of mellow softness on the tongue, and that rounded texture quickly reveals a richer sweetness coming from the honeyed character that spreads across the mid-palate. Beneath that, a deep umami weight develops of savoury mushrooms and the faint creaminess of something reminiscent of Camembert rind. A firmer, dry edge appear, carried by the bitterness of long lemon rinds tightening the structure and keeping the richness in check. Bitterness leads naturally into a mineral line that straightens the sake’s shape and adds subtle grip.

Finish: A gentle, slightly fuzzy sensation drifts out first, and that comes from something like peach skin before thinning into a raw-rice graininess that feels dry and clean. A final zesty snap closes everything.

My Thoughts:

It strikes me as very fresh, even with the obvious umami depth that signals bottle age. The overall feel is dry and quietly energetic, with that zesty tail giving it more direction than I expected. Assemblage 2 also seems to lean further into lifted aromatics compared to other expressions. As the sake warms in the glass, it shifts quite noticeably–from something floral, taut and luminous into a more ample, bodied and gently mellow shape.

Sake Review: IWA 5 Assemblage 3

 

Nose: Opens with a bright, slightly lifted sharpness shaped by citrus rind. A gentle sweetness from light honey softens the initial tension, while a faint raw-rice aroma adds a grainy undercurrent. Savoury depths build from earthy umami tones, and a touch of cedar brings a clean, dry woodiness. As I sit with it longer, a mild Camembert-like cheesiness appears, like a soft, creamy accent that rounds off the aromatics.

Palate: Starts off with a clean, elegant textural glide. Cool, subtle pear notes before a firmer, more linear feel develops thanks to a dry cedar character that runs straight through the mid-palate, acting almost like a structural spine. The clarity holds steady as it moves across the tongue, and the combination of minerality and savoury hints keeps the profile composed.

Finish: A dry, faintly cedar touch leads into the finish. The profile tightens into something racy and slightly spiced, giving the aftertaste a brisk, almost saline snap that feels aligned with high acidity and those green, oyster-shell tones.

My Thoughts:

This one feels noticeably more tactile and intense. There’s a sense of controlled force behind this one. Still precise, but with a bit more drive and liveliness compared to Assemblage 2. The acidity reads higher, bringing out a green-mineral edge that sits somewhere between cedar shavings and crushed oyster shell, and the fruit plays a much smaller role here. 

This style leans less on sweetness and more on savoury and mineral character. Richard explained that Assemblage 3 marked the period when he intentionally pushed for power and intensity more than ever before, even incorporating an experimental yeast from Canada to stretch what the blend could handle. That might explain the extra tension and the almost electric racy quality on the finish. 

Sake Review: IWA 5 Assemblage 4

 

Nose: Denser and more mature–less fruit-driven, more focused on herbal and earthy tones. It's initially shy but there's a growing undercurrent of deeper, slow-unfolding oxidative aromas rather than anything overtly fruity, starting with a gentle sweetness of honey tones, the warmth of ginseng and the soft, rounded sweetness of Cantonese dessert soups. A mildly savoury layer carried by shiitake mushroom and the faint nuttiness of ginkgo, giving some earthiness. A dry, woody edge develops from antique wood varnish and light wood spice. 

Palate: A thick, slightly syrupy texture, and that density quickly splits into a balance between gentle bitterness and slow, rounded sweetness. A soft banana note and some white floral tones brighten the mid-palate slightly, while the bitter side is shaped by sweet-medicinal Chinese herbal soup nuances. A light mushroom character runs underneath. There's significantly more weight and concentration, but with a familiar structure holding everything in place.

Finish: A long, dry line leads the finish, driven by persistent cedar tones Herbal-medicinal bitterness becomes clearer here fading into a lingering savoury shiitake depth. The aftertaste is savoury and dry rather than sweet.

My Thoughts:

This Assemblage leans more oxidative and more herbaceous, and that shift gives it a completely different personality. The profile reminds me slightly of herbal candies. It feels more mature and oxidative without tipping into heaviness, while maintaining the familiar long, firmly dry structure. Among these Assemblages, this is the one that feels most anchored by savoury and herbal tones rather than fruit or floral lift.

Sake Review: IWA 5 Assemblage 5

 

Nose: Opens with soft, rounded ripe pear notes. A fragrant white florals edge and a faint rosemary-like herbal note that adds a clean, green sharpness. Warm grainy softness builds from a rice-porridge character. The profile deepens gradually with a touch of earthiness and the pithy bitterness of pomelo rind, while a sweeter layer emerges in the form of almond marzipan and dried lychees. 

Palate: Immediately rounded, silky texture. A prominent, almost pithy bitterness appears early, shaped by heavy lemon peel, and that dryness settles along the back of the throat and the sides of the palate in a way that reminds me of classic karakuchi sharpness. Then softer fruit tones slip in with cool melon and a tangy yuzu note that adds brightness without taking over. Floral impressions sit just as firmly in the mid-palate, leaning more towards pink florist-style florals. A faint coconut character appears near the end, bringing a creamy note that contrasts lightly with the bitterness.

Finish: Medium length and very clean, fading quickly into a touch of citrus and a light toasted-coconut note that leaves only a soft warmth behind.

My Thoughts:

This feels quite close to Assemblage 3 in its tactility–the same combination of clarity, grip and a slightly assertive structure–but Assemblage 5 carries an even cleaner profile. The pink floral notes stand out more clearly here, especially on the palate, and the bitterness feels intentionally placed to give it a tighter frame. The fruit, florals and coconut hints are well integrated, but the defining impression is still that clean, dry, slightly pithy backbone. The entire expression feels precise without being overly austere.

Sake Review: IWA 5 Assemblage 6

 

Nose: Clean and refined. A gentle sweetness appears first through something like pear juice once again. Beneath that, a distinct puffed-rice note adds a crisp grain character, and that graininess links seamlessly to a light cereally gristy dryness. A touch of honey sits over the top and gradually shifts into something that reminds me of Cantonese snow-pear soup. A faint subtly herbal bitterness edges and pithiness of lemon peel.

Palate: Opens quite refined, with a dry, pithy sharpness shaped by lemon peel forming the first clear impression. Then cool melons and fresh pear. A light cedar feel runs through the mid-palate. At the same time, a gentle herbal tone emerges, something close to dang gui and ginseng. A quiet white-pepper lift follows, and a mild karakuchi dryness settles at the back of the tongue.

Finish: Stretches out longer than expected but stays delicate throughout. A soft, quiet sweetness lingers, carried by light cedar and a small touch of vanilla that shows up right at the end. The aftertaste fades slowly and cleanly, leaving only a gentle vanillic warmth.

My Thoughts:

Assemblage 6 feels drier than Assemblage 5, but the dryness here is smoother and more composed. The warmth on the back end is more noticeable too, coming from those toasty cedar and vanillin hints, and they’re integrated well enough that they lift the structure rather than weigh it down. The fruit, floral and mineral elements sit comfortably together, and the whole expression feels cohesive.

Sake Review: IWA 5 Older Reserves

 

Nose: Opens with a deep, savoury weight, that umami warmth immediately seting the tone. A clear mushroom note giving a damp, earthy richness, and the sweetness of Manuka honey. Once that settles, a soft cheesiness emerges lines up with a mellow brightness of pear. As it opens further, a sweet herbal-soup aroma drifts in, tying together the honey, earthiness and creaminess. A final layer of dried lychees adds a slightly woodsy, savoury sweetness.

Palate: Arrives with a big, thick texture–pillowy and weighty at the same time. Richness expands quickly, and the first clear flavour is a gentle honeyed sweetness that spreads across the tongue in a rounded, almost syrup-like way. Beneath it, the herbal-soup character appears again, giving a medicinal sweetness that grounds the palate and introduces a slow, warming depth. The structure underneath stays firm, shaped by the savoury tones that pulse through the mid-palate.

Finish: Dry, slightly bitter, and very persistent. Gentle earthiness leads the finish, carried by light mushroom notes that linger. A soft coconut tone adding a creamy accent before the profile shifts into a much drier register of woody cedar, and a faint note of dark chocolate right at the end.

My Thoughts:

What stands out immediately is the aged character here. It's beautifully developed, herbaceous, far more mushroom-driven, and undeniably richer in texture than any of the other Assemblages.

The thick texture is the first thing I notice, and the combination of honey, herbal depth and savoury earthiness makes this the most intense expression of IWA’s typical style. It shows what extended koshu ageing can do when handled with precision.

Richard explained that this bottle represents IWA’s most radical creation: built from more than 72 component sakes, each aged individually in glass magnums rather than tanks. The components ranged from 2 to 7 years old, and from that large library only 12 were selected for the final blend, which was then married for around 6 months before bottling. 

 

 

And so the evening at 67 Pall Mall Singapore ended on that note: depth, patience and a kind of quiet conviction. How rare it was to taste through a project of this scale with the creator sitting metres away explaining the philosophy behind them. 67 Pall Mall continues to put on these masterclasses, open only to members. The space is one of the few in Singapore where you can genuinely go deep into a producer’s mind.

For anyone curious about IWA, all the bottles tasted this evening are available through Angra Wine & Spirits.

 

@CharsiuCharlie