HEAVENSAKE

HEAVENSAKE is a Junmai sake brand created through a collaboration between French cellar master Régis Camus and Japanese sake breweries. Established in 2016, the brand combines traditional Japanese sake brewing with the French blending technique known as assemblage. HEAVENSAKE products are produced in Japan and distributed internationally.

HEAVENSAKE was founded in 2016 by Régis Camus and a group of French entrepreneurs to combine Japanese sake brewing with French blending expertise. Camus oversees the blending process in collaboration with Japanese tōji, maintaining traditional brewing methods while applying the assemblage technique.

The brand entered the Japanese market in 2024 and has collaborated with several breweries, including Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute, Niizawa Brewery, Urakasumi Brewery, and Dewazakura Brewery. Some releases were produced in collaboration with Noguchi Naohiko, who had not previously produced a high-end sake for another brand.

HEAVENSAKE is distributed internationally, including in Europe, North America, and Asia. In the United States, distribution began in 2019 through Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits.

HEAVENSAKE products are produced in Japan using rice, water, kōji mold, and yeast. The brand applies a blending process in which different sake components are combined to achieve balance in aroma, flavor, and texture, adapting the assemblage method from Champagne production. Certain editions are presented in porcelain bottles produced by Arita Porcelain Lab.

Collaborating breweries include Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute in Ishikawa Prefecture, Niizawa Brewery in Miyagi Prefecture, Urakasumi Brewery in Shiogama, and Dewazakura Brewery in Yamagata Prefecture.

Sake expert John Gauntner noted initial skepticism about using assemblage in sake production, which he later revised after tasting a HEAVENSAKE blend.

HEAVENSAKE produces a range of Junmai sakes, including Junmai, Junmai Ginjo, and Junmai Daiginjo expressions. Collaborations with different breweries have resulted in several named releases, including:

• Prestige I (with Noguchi Naohiko)
• Prestige II ASSEMBLAGE Junmai Daiginjo
• Label Azur Junmai Daiginjo (with Dewazakura Brewery)
• Label Noir Junmai Daiginjo (with Niizawa Brewery)
• Label Orange Junmai Daiginjo (with Urakasumi Brewery)

HEAVENSAKE applies the French blending technique known as assemblage, commonly used in Champagne production, to sake, and was the first to bring the art of assemblage to Sake. Rather than bottling a single fermentation, different sake batches are combined to achieve a consistent balance across aroma, mouthfeel, and finish.

Camus has described the process as comparable to musical composition, in which multiple elements are combined to create a unified result.

• Eight-time “Winemaker of the Year,” International Wine Challenge – Régis Camus.
• Winner of “Best Sake,” San Francisco International Wine Competition, 2019 and 2020.
• Named “Best Sake,” Rolling Stone Spirit Awards, 2026.

• Official website