The “Beau-Zone” Layer – Naraman “Assemblage”
From Fukushima Prefecture.
Aged Junmai Daiginjo.
SMV: +3 Acidity: 1.6
When you've been around the sake block long enough, you see things emerge: the creative growth and change in style that are part of sake's trajectory. It’s sort of cool to be there from the so-called beginning. One beginning was actually a continuation of the way they used to do it for a very long time in the production of sake, but they gave it a new name: “Assemblage.” You’ve been seeing this French word a lot in sake today, but it’s cool talk for “blending,” which they’ve been doing forever in sake. This meant mixing several tanks of sake for the purpose of creating one flavor of sake. In fact, some breweries used to have other breweries bring over tanks that they made to blend with tanks that you made to fill out quantities needed for mass production. Blending is a thing and has been so for at least the last 100 years. But, “Assemblage,” using the French term, is pretty recent, and we know who can take credit for this new style of sake making, which is actually a new style of marketing as well.
Fast forward to give a high five to one Richard Geoffroy from Champagne, France, who used to “assemblage” Champagne for the King of Champagne, Dom Pérignon. Yup, you know him because we love him, and we have been huge supporters and fans of his IWA 5 sake trajectory! There is that word again. But, it’s important because he really used, stressed, and marketed “Assemblage” before the rest. And I hope he gets due credit for moving the “Assemblage” trajectory within the sake industry! He deserves it!
Fast forward again to the Wismettac Industry B2B sake tasting last month in the Bay Area. This time, Mei and I were sneaking around talking sake with most of the brewers and the importers who were showcasing their brews. As we were about to leave, I recognized the President of Yumegokoro Sake Brewery from Fukushima Prefecture, which goes by the brand name Naraman. We have a lot of Fukushima sake in the store right now, and I was more interested in saying hello than shopping. But then I saw it! A really cool dark green box with a killer temple orange inside, and a bottle with the same color green label and that word. What word? That word, “Assemblage.” So we had to taste it! And Holy Moly. Boom! Bang! Pow! Like a punch from Batman, it knocked me out. What a sake. The flavor and feeling was outstanding and we immediately ordered two cases. Boom!
So, their version of Assemblage, which they are now using the word to market this masterpiece, “is inspired by both assemblage and aging.” Cool! I was hooked. Using locally grown Gohyakumangoku brewing rice, Tsugamine mountain stream water (which they claim as one of the 100 best waters in Japan), and “Utsukushima Dream Yeast” developed exclusively in Fukushima Prefecture, the key to this beauty is the storage and aging process. This Junmai Daiginjo is stored and matured at low temperature for seven consecutive years, and then each year’s brew is blended into one, producing a flavor profile that is both surprisingly light for aged sake yet deep with complexity only achievable through aging. These are their words not mine, but they do the justice that this brew deserves. Their other tagline for this sake is “Assemblage: Capturing the Passage of Time.” Well said again!
I think my dear friend Richard would love this version of “Assemblage,” and you will too.