IWA5 v1 versus IWA5 v2 versus Dassai Beyond and Dassai 23

IWA5 v1 versus IWA5 v2 versus Dassai Beyond and Dassai 23

I have the pleasure to be invited for the tasting of Richard Geoffrey’s new pet project of creating artisan sake after his long stint with Dom Perignon as the chef de cave (chief winemaker.) We had a Zoom conference call to learn from Richard about the making of the sake. Meanwhile, I had the pleasure to bring the elusive Dassai Beyond and 23 to field the comparison. IWA5 version 2 is a vast improvement over IWA version 1, with a lot more softness, finesse and elegance. The IWA5 version 1 really looked pale right next to version 2, rough and edgy. However, the Dassai Beyond is simply beyond words, the light and airiness of the sake was really stunning, the sake maker refuse to reveal what’s the percentage of rice polishing, and I believe it’s at least 15% polished. Dassai 23 tasted rough right next to Dassai Beyond. Thus, my ranking of the sake is as follows (from best to worst):
1. Dassai Beyond
2. IWA 5 version 2
3. Dassai 23
4. IWA 5 version 1
Ratings:
Dassai Beyond: 9.75
IWA 2: 9.5
Dassai 23: 9.25
IWA 1: 9.0