A MEETING OF MASTER BLENDERS
WINE MAKER & PORT MASTER BLENDER DIRK NIEPOORT COLLABORATES WITH FRANÇOIS CHARTIER ON EXCLUSIVE NEW JAPANESE SAKE AT TANAKA 1789 X CHARTIER
World-renowned winemaker Dirk Niepoort, of the eponymous cellar in Porto, has stepped into the world of sake in a groundbreaking collaboration with the world-renowned aromas specialist François Chartier, who is also the master blender and executive producer at the esteemed Japanese sake project TANAKA 1789 X CHARTIER.
This first blend of the new NIEPOORT X TANAKA 1789 X CHARTIER handcrafted sake will be released worldwide in August in a limited edition of 1,789 bottles – which is the foundation year of Tanaka Shuzoten Sake Brewery. It will only be available in cases of three bottles, in the trademark black bottles of sake TANAKA 1789 X CHARTIER and carry a special mystery label designed by Dirk Niepoort.
Chartier has been crafting sake for wine lovers since 2017 – blended sake that have created a revolution and that are available in 24 markets since September 2020. He has invited his friend Dirk Niepoort to make their first sake together while drawing on their unparalleled wine blending experiences.
“It has been a tremendous experience blending sake with Dirk,” explains François Chartier, who first met Dirk in the 1990s while working as a sommelier in Quebec. “We saw his master blending experience shine through immediately — he is unique in his ability to blend.”
This first blend of the new NIEPOORT X TANAKA 1789 X CHARTIER handcrafted sake will be released worldwide in August in a limited edition of 1,789 bottles – which is the foundation year of Tanaka Shuzoten Sake Brewery. It will only be available in cases of three bottles, in the trademark black bottles of sake TANAKA 1789 X CHARTIER and carry a special mystery label designed by Dirk Niepoort.
In February 2022, amidst continued Covid restrictions in Japan, the blending components, crafted by Chartier, were sent from the sake brewery in Japan to Niepoort’s cellar in Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal where Dirk and François sat together, with Daniel Niepoort and Chartier’s collaborator Nicolas Roché, for a blending session. “I’ve been very passionate about sake for many years, it’s one of my favourite drinks,” explains Dirk, who had not made sake before. “I had a very clear idea in my mind of what I was looking for. After tasting each sake component, I stubbornly made the blend I had in my head — trying to create the sort of sake that drives me crazy… A sake with umami, green tea expressions, some reduction and same saltiness.”
“When I started making the TANAKA 1789 X CHARTIER sake, I had the aim of crafting a sake for wine lovers with more natural acidity and umami than normal,” explains Chartier, who has written award-winning books on the aromatic science of “Molecular harmonies” and is considered one of the world’s best sommeliers and taste experts. “This collaboration with Niepoort is a confirmation that this was the right direction to take — I think it will have a huge impact when people taste it. We want to open the door for sommeliers and see sake on their wine lists — not just on sake lists in Japanese restaurants,” Chartier said.
“Blending is about being patient and waiting for the right moment.”, adds Niepoort.
Re-beginning of time.
