IWA 5 - ENCORE UNE FOIS
Yes, Assemblage 2 is exclusively out for those of us lucky to be in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia however it’s far from a simple encore of what happened with the inaugural IWA 5. It will nevertheless still be leaving drinkers demanding “more”.
Let’s just rewind a little though. Richard Geoffroy had spent almost three decades making significant headlines and winning the praise of the wine world as chef de cave for Dom Pérignon. But inspired by the spectrum of flavours and aromas possible with Sake, he would transfer his skillset to take on the immense challenge of brewing Nihonshu at Toyama’s Shiraiwa Kura.
I’m told that the launch event of Assemblage 2 in London, sorry, across London (there will be over twenty locations simultaneously unleashing IWA 5 on the city’s Sake converts), will be quite something to behold. Keep your eyes peeled for a British media storm in mid-September. Dubai too, the United Arab Emirates’ party playground, will soon be receiving its share of IWA 5’s iconic Assemblage 2 black bottles. Just imagine the explosion that’ll cause on Instagram.
Assemblage 2 is made with those same three big hitting rices - gohyakumangoku, yamada nishiki and omachi - as well as the complicated five yeast combo but it’s abundantly clear this Sake is different to Assemblage 1. The nose tells you that and the palate palpably confirms your suspicions.
IWA Founder-Maker Geoffroy puts it more poetically, categorising Assemblage 1 as Champagne and Assemblage 2 as white wine. The Sake community is, apparently, simplifying it further and saying they’re a white wine and a Sake.
Initially this didn’t necessarily mean a whole lot to me as I tried to unpick an IWA 5 vertical tasting experience the other night. Assemblage 1 did taste a little sweeter than I recalled from my notes, but it had been quite a savoury day for my palate until this point (OK, and I was having a Suntory The Premium Malt’s to transition from the day job to the evening’s decadent experience).
But then I started eating. IWA 5 just comes alive with food. I continue to have this terribly misplaced view that such a high end Sake as this is something only to be sipped, a posing aperitif, something that requires academic appreciation. Yet that’s all wrong. This is Sake for food, and Monday nights.
Geoffroy agrees, so I’m told. I suppose more accurately, I agree with him:
“IWA 5 has an intriguing capacity to pair with a great array of foods: IWA 5 can pair successive dishes throughout one single meal.”
It just works so well and once again, as with my first tasting of IWA 5 back in February this year, we threw a lot at it and there were still no wincing glances across the table or shaking of heads.
Yokai: Some super supernatural decor
We were eating at Yokai, just opened in July ’21. Located 23 floors up, this manga-inspired restaurant takes its name from Shigeru Mizuki’s The Book of Yokai, which depicts hundreds of otherworldly spirits in various states of undress, contortion, fury and wellbeing. The restaurant’s abundance of red lighting adding to the orgiastic feel of the carnage depicted around us.
It defines itself as a sushi and yakitori bar so we got stuck into all things protein, raw, grilled and fried. Taking a pretty thorough tour around the anatomy of a chicken, both flesh and offal, it was good to see both Assemblages up to the task. Liver and heart, my benchmark to really test out a Sake’s food pairing credentials, also failed to overpower the pairing. Impressive.
Same with the richness of the egg yolk and textural challenges of tsukune. At the other end of the spectrum, was a delicate fish carpaccio, charged with a citrus dressing and pops of salmon eggs, dill and microherbs. That’s a lot going on in one dish. No problem for IWA 5. The complexity of the Sake seemed to have something in hand for every flavour on the plate.
So let’s be clear on one thing, IWA 5 is setting the bar as a great food Sake and as I claimed back in February for Assemblage 1, I wouldn’t hesitate to confirm that Assemblage 2 displays the same highly crafted qualities. Plus the smoothness is there, working on another level than many Sakes, to fill your mouth with an ultimate silkiness.
IWA 5 tastes well-made and I can’t really put it into words better than that. So think about this maybe, how good a Bentley car door sounds when you close it, or how a Riedel wine glass sings when you toast with it. There’s a certain innate quality at play. I hope that helps.
But yes, Assemblage 2 is different. It has a fullness to it. It’s more savoury than Assemblage 1, in my opinion, and has plenty of fruit aromas and flavours going on but they’re less exotic. I noted down stone fruits, like apricot and plum. Geoffroy talks of, amongst many other things, “vegetal”, “ample”, “light earthy”. I’m in the same ballpark.
The savoury comes out in some woody notes, my scrawls include “more barky”, in a good way, versus the greener “wood” I listed for Assemblage 1. “Dusky” too, not in the sense of damp cardboard or steamy roads after rain, but more the cool evening freshness on a summer’s evening. There’s some background sweetness too, like a good vanilla custard, or I guess more appropriately, Crème Anglaise.
I got all excited about the sheer presence of the IWA 5 bottle last time. It still feels good, it should do, the bottle makers also supply Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. It looks even better next to another one. Smart design folk have been having a field day, the only way to discern between Assemblage 1 and 2 is the little mention on the very simple back label. Want to know more? Scan that QR code.
But it doesn’t end there. An almighty IWA 5 isshobin is coming. Hit the gym now, it’ll be a behemoth. Limited stocks will add to the collector value and I can’t imagine we’ll see many of these in the glass recycle bin.
Those lucky enough to have experienced Plénitude 2 (“P2”), the enhanced and elevated alter ego of Dom Pérignon slowly transformed in cellar, will be eager to hope the rumours are true of an aged IWA 5 equivalent. A brilliant, almost unobtainable experimental bottle to prove beyond doubt that Shiraiwa’s Sakes can age well. Wouldn’t that be something to enjoy. Join the queue.
I can quite see it happening. What we have to remember is that Geoffroy created Assemblage 2 remotely, back in Champagne. As he explains in his own words:
“It is often said the second run of a project is the most difficult. This was proven right! But for pure reasons of context. Owing to the pandemic, I was sadly enough locked down at home, in France, unable to be in Japan for the Assemblage. The samples of all individual components had to be shipped over to me, making it the ultimate in teleworking.”
Just imagine what more can be achieved in Toyama by Geoffroy in person. I don’t think I dare dream.
FOOTNOTE:
The Sake Components (from www.iwa-sake.jp)
Rice varieties & Origins
- Yamada Nishiki from Hyogo and Toyama Prefectures – brings streamlined finesse
- Omachi from Okayama – brings opulence and texture
- Gohyakumangoku from Toyama Prefecture – seals the Assemblage
Yeast Strains
Five different yeast strains, including experimental ones. The selection of yeast strains is based on their complimentary individual natures: high and low tone aromas, greener aromas, complexity, umami, sourness, viscosity or texture.
Moto
Predominantly traditional Kimoto – bringing extra depth.
Reserve Sakes
Giving the Assemblage better balance, richness and complexity.
Junmai Daiginjo
No alcohol added
Rice polishing rate – Seimaibuai – is 35% as all individual components are 35%
Pasteurization
The entire production has been pasteurized
LINKS:
IWA 5
www.iwa-sake.jp
@iwa.sake
info@iwa-sake.jp
QUICK GLOSSARY:
Nihonshu: Sake in Japanese refers to all alcoholic beverages so to make the differentiation clearer, Sake is also called Nihonshu (日本酒)
Isshobin: The most popular bottle size in Japan, this 1 sho bottle holds 1800ml/1.8l (1 go合 = 180ml / 10 go = 1 sho升)
