TN: Japanese wines!

IMO, one of the hands-down most interesting tastings of 2022 was had already in January, when a wine geek friend of mine - who is married to a Japanese and thus frequents Japan quite a lot - conducted a tasting of Japanese wines!

From a strict quality perspective I wouldn’t say this was - or is going to be - the best tasting held in Finland in 2022, but seeing how rarely we get to taste Japanese wines here in Finland (especially so many at one go), this was definitely a tasting I did not want to miss. After all, this is only the third Japanese wine tasting in Finland I’ve ever heard of, and the second I’ve taken part of (the first one was a tasting I threw myself back in 2018).

Unlike in my tasting, where the emphasis was to show all kinds of different styles and varieties grown in Japan, the emphasis here was on Kōshū, arguably the most successful grape variety grown in Japan - and also the only one that can be described as a “truly Japanese variety”. It’s still quite unclear how and when this grape variety came to be, but it is suspected that it was either brought to Japan around 500 years ago, or it was born as a cross of two Vitis vinifera varieties grown in Japan around that time. As its genetic fingerprint doesn’t match any known varieties, its parentage remains unknown - most likely these are different grape varieties that made their way slowly east into China through the silk road over the last 1000 years, different varieties crossing with other varieties brought earlier or later, all which would go extinct at some point. This all feels like a link chain where you have the first few links in somewhere Europe or Middle East, and the last link in Japan, but all the links in-between have been erased by the centuries. I’ve even understood that Kōshū has a few non-vitifera sequences in its DNA, so most likely some of its grandparents must’ve crossed with a local non-vitifera grape vine, making Kōshū technically a hybrid variety.

The variety itself is both visually very beautiful, producing grapes that turn beautifully pink in color as they ripen, and very adapted to the warm, humid and often quite rainy climate of Japan. Although there have been some (quite successful) attempts to grow the variety in a “Western way”, ie. in rows using vertical shoot position, an overwhelming majority of Kōshū is grown in huge pergolas. And by huge I mean that one single vine can cover up to 1000 square feet (approx. 100 m2), because the variety is so ridiculously productive. The downside to this has been the neutrality of the variety - even though yields per hectare might be very reasonable in Japanese viticulture, the yields per one single plant don’t really make sense from a western farmer’s point of view! The old Kōshū vine trunks actually can be as thick as a grown man’s thigh and with their sprawling foliage they honestly look more like trees than grape vines - especially when the pergola is set up to the height of up to 3 m / 10 ft in the air! You actually need ladders to harvest the grapes from the tallest pergolas.

These tall pergolas are used to maximize the airflow; as the Japanese weather gets up ridiculously humid during the summer months, it’s imperative to keep the grapes as dry as possible so they don’t get attacked by molds or other diseases. Furthermore, what makes Japanese wine so expensive is how it is so work-intensive - many producers actually decorate every single grape bunch with a wax-paper “hat” to protect the grape from rains, which can get quite torrential at times.

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Here are the wines we tasted (apart from the Chateau Jun bottle I forgot to take a picture of):


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The first five bottles:


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Pale, almost colorless whitish-green appearance. Light, rather neutral and slightly sweetish nose with aromas of custard, some leesy character, a little bit of fresh light peach, a herbal hint of bay leaf and a touch of red apple. The wine is light-bodied, quite dry and somewhat neutral on the palate with clean flavors of red apple, some leesy notes of creamy richness, a little bit of white peach, light candied notes of gummi bears, a hint of chalky minerality and a touch of fresh Asian pear. The mousse feels very soft, smooth and creamy and the moderately high acidity keeps the wine fresh and in balance. The finish is light and medium-long with clean and slightly neutral flavors of leesy creaminess, some sweet fruity notes of white peach and Asian pear, a little bit of chalky mineral bitterness and a candied hint of gummi bear.

A nice and pleasant little sparkling wine that suffers a bit from the quite neutral nature of Koshu: while balanced and refreshing, the wine is quite light in flavor and thus lacking a bit in character. There seems to be a bit of that leesy, creamy character they obtain from aging sur lie, but it’s still nothing similar to the toasty notes of brioche and nuts that one can find in great Champagnes, Cavas and other sparkling wines. This is a decent effort, but ultimately doesn’t really reach the level of quality of the still Koshu wines of Katsunuma Jozo. (87 pts.)

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  • 2018 Cfa Backyard Winery Koshu Opening Act - Japan, Kantō, Tochigi (20.1.2022)
    100% Koshu from Cfa Backyard Winery located in Ashikaga, Tochigi, i.e. some 30-50 km north from Tokyo. The “Cfa” refers to the Köppen climate classification in which this part of Japan belongs to. 12% alcohol.

Rather neutral pale greenish color. Clean, youthful and subtly smoky nose with aromas of white pepper, some Sauvignon Blanc-ish box tree character, a little bit of red apple, light zesty citrus fruit notes and a hint of passion fruit. The wine is ripe, clean and juicy on the palate with a medium body and quite intense flavors of ripe red apple, some leesy notes, a little bit of fresh white fruit, light stony mineral notes, a hint of tangy salinity and a touch of passion fruit. The moderately high acidity keeps the wine fresh and balanced. The finish is clean, fresh and quite long with flavors of crunchy apple, some tangy salinity, a little bit of leesy character and a faint hint of something bready - hard to assess whether it is autolysis or a subtle nuance of something oxidative.

A nice little everyday wine. Has a somewhat Sauvignon Blanc character to it - only without any herbaceous or vegetal nuances. Enjoyable and well-made, albeit a bit forgettable as well. Most likely best for immediate consumption - I really don’t see much or any potential for further development. Priced according to its quality at approx 2300¥ / 15€. (86 pts.)

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  • 2018 Chateau Mars Koshu Orange-Gris - Japan, Chūbu, Yamanashi (20.1.2022)
    A Koshu that straddles the line between a white wine and an orange wine. The pinkish skins of the “gris”-colored Koshu grapes are macerated for some time to lend the wine a bit of color, but still limiting the phenolic extraction. 12% alcohol.

Medium-deep and quite intense neon yellow-green color with a golden core. Savory, somewhat restrained and slightly phenolic nose with aromas of rosin, a little bit of pithy grapefruit, light floral notes and a hint of something waxy. The wine tastes dry yet juicy and suggestive of sweetness with its ripe undertones. There are flavors of ripe golden apples, some grapefruit, a little bit of something waxy, light notes of slivered almonds, a hint of Asian pear and a touch of rosin. The overall feel is medium-bodied with a nice, silky texture and good, bright and high acidity. The finish is clean and juicy with a somewhat neutral yet still quite long aftertaste of fresh and almost tart apples, some waxy tones, a little bit of pithy pomelo, light resinous nuances and a hint of almost Alpine minerality.

A nice, balanced and very harmonious wine that feels more like a white wine rather than an orange wine, yet shows some nice, waxy and phenolic qualities that obviously point out to the direction of skin contact. I think that without any skin contact this might’ve been a balanced but way too neutral and uninteresting, lacking in depth and character, but that skin contact has imbued the wine with enough flavor and character that it has actually turned out to be a very enjoyable and well-made white wine. It’s hard to say whether the wine will continue to improve anywhere from here, but I doubt it will fall apart anytime soon. Drink now or over the next handful of years. (90 pts.)

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Light-to-medium-deep lemon-yellow color with a pale onion skin-colored core. The nose feels waxy and quite savory with aromas of peach, some resinous notes, a little bit of creamy richness, light smoky tones, perhaps a hint of wood and a touch of bruised apple. The wine is dry, textural and moderately full-bodied on the palate with flavors of something waxy, some creamy tones, light bitter notes of apple peel and phenolic spices, a little bit of almond-driven nuttiness, a hint of crunchy quince and a touch of stony minerality. The overall feel is firm and slightly angular with the high acidity and a gentle touch of light tannic grip. The finish is dry, savory and subtly grippy with long flavors of spicy red apple, some apple peel bitterness, light waxy tones, a little bit of savory wood spice, a hint of resinous character and a touch of slivered almond.

A nice, characterful and quite structured Koshu that has a little bit of skin contact influence, but still comes across more like a white wine than a full-blown orange wine. I think age might’ve added to the nuance and texture of the wine and since the wine doesn’t really seem to exhibit much if any aged character, I suspect it might actually continue to improve a bit more in a cellar - even if it is drinking pretty nicely already now. All in all, a very balanced and well-made effort from one of the biggest wineries in Yamanashi (and in Japan). (92 pts.)

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  • 2018 Yamato Wine Co Koshu Huggy Wine Choujou - Japan, Chūbu, Yamanashi, Katsunuma (20.1.2022)
    100% Yamanashi Koshu aged in oak casks. According to the label, the winemaker is Yasuki Hagihara, a farmer and winemaker in 4th generation. 12% alcohol.

Pale lemon yellow color. Rich, sweetly-fruited nose with quite tropical aromas of mango, some ripe white peach, a little bit of green banana and a hint of avocado. The wine is ripe, juicy and richly-textured on the palate with a medium-to-moderately full body and supple yet slightly neutral flavors of white peach, some red apple, light leesy notes, a little bit of tangy salinity, a hint of creamy oak and a herbal touch of grassy greenness. Nice, bright acidity. The finish is ripe and juicy yet quite dry with long flavors of white peach, some tart green apple, light saline mineral notes, a little bit of creamy oak, a tart tropical hint of passion fruit and a touch of mango.

A fresh, harmonious and still very youthful Koshu that seems to have picked up some rich tropical fruit notes and subtle creaminess from the oak élevage without imbuing the wine with any overt oak aromatics. Although the wine retains some of that inherent neutral character typical of Koshu, it still manages to show a good combination of fruit and depth of flavor along with bright, high acidity and a nice undercurrent of saline minerality. Furthermore, this feels like a Koshu that could actually continue to improve for some years in a cellar. All in all, a very positive effort. Great value at 1795¥ / approx. 13-14€. (91 pts.)

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The next five bottles:


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  • 2019 Soryu Winery Koshu Curious Type N - Japan, Chūbu, Yamanashi, Katsunuma (20.1.2022)
    100% Koshu from the Katsunuma subregion of Yamanashi, harvested in late October. Aged in stainless steel tanks on the lees. 12% alcohol, 1 g/l residual sugar, 6,8 g/l acidity.

Very pale, neutral whitish-green color. Somewhat reductive and even slightly skunky nose with aromas of zesty citrus fruit, some leesy character, light appley tones, a little bit of flinty reduction, a mineral hint of gun metal and a touch of sulfur smoke. The wine is dry, crisp and fresh on the palate with a linear and somewhat neutral taste of fresh red apple, some grapefruit, a little bit of leesy character, light steely mineral tones, a hint of pear and a faint autolytic touch of bready character. Nice high acidity. The finish is fresh, clean and somewhat neutral with a bright, moderately long and a bit linear aftertaste of pear, some sharp green apple tones, a little bit of leesy character, light crunchy apple tones and a hint of smoky reduction.

A nice, harmonious and refreshing Koshu with good sense of focus and brightness, thanks to the clean taste and high acidity. However, the wine seems to suffer a bit from reduction, muting the fruit flavors a bit and even lending a subtly skunky touch to the nose. Some aeration might help, but I have no idea how much air the wine needs, since it didn’t change much during the several hours the bottle was kept open. I guess the screwcap might be the culprit here, because apart from one other bottle, this was the only wine in our tasting not closed with a natural cork, and at the same time the only one showing obvious reduction. I hope the screwcap lets enough oxygen in the bottle so that the wine might lose its reductive nature with enough aging. At 34,86€, the wine feels quite overpriced for the quality. (88 pts.)

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  • 2018 Ikeda Koshu Grande Cuvée Yamanashi - Japan, Chūbu, Yamanashi (20.1.2022)
    The flagship white of Ikeda, made by selecting the best Koshu grapes grown in the larger Yamanashi region. Fermented and aged in new 280-liter oak barrels. 12,5% alcohol.

Completely colorless, fully neutral limpid whitish appearance. Very restrained and understated nose with subtle aromas of white peach, some Asian pear, a little bit of sappy herbal character and a faint hint of creamy oak. The wine is clean, ripe and quite neutral but also enjoyably fresh and firm on the palate with a medium body and somewhat linear flavors of pithy pomelo, some stony mineral notes, a little bit of tangy salinity, light nutty nuances of wood and a hint of zesty lemon. The moderately high acidity lends the wine good sense of structure. The finish is fresh and clean with light, medium-long flavors of crisp white fruit, some fresh red apple tones, a little bit of lemony citrus fruit, light chalky mineral notes and a hint of creamy oak.

A very light, neutral and understated Koshu, feels much more restrained and underwhelming compared to the 2017 vintage, more similar to the very delicate entry-level Koshus of the winery. Fortunately the wine shows good sense of freshness and structure, otherwise it would feel just dilute. I have no idea if the wine is just in a slump or if the style is just this reticent. If it’s not the latter, this might get better with some cellaring. However, I wouldn’t hold my breath. (86 pts.)

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  • 2017 Kurambon Koshu N - Japan, Chūbu, Yamanashi, Katsunuma (20.1.2022)
    The “N” in the name refers to the natural winemaking employed while making the wine. All the grapes are sourced from Toriihara, located in the Katsunuma sub-region within Yamanashi. Fermented spontaneously, aged in French oak casks, bottled unfiltered. 12% alcohol. Annual production 1000-1500 bottles.

Youthful and slightly hazy medium-deep yellow-green color. Ripe, fragrant and subtly wild nose with aromas of nectarine, some waxy funk, a little bit of savory spice, light nutty notes of slivered almond and a sweet hint of juicy cantaloupe. The wine is broad and even somewhat concentrated yet still very fresh and lively on the palate with a full body and quite intense flavors of apricots and sweet Golden Delicious apple, some gravelly mineral notes, a little bit of waxy funk, light steely mineral nuances, a hint of exotic spice and a floral touch of apple blossom. The high acidity lends great sense of intensity and structure to the wine. The finish is long, slightly concentrated and quite complex with intense flavors of ripe peach, waxy funk, some spicy red apple, a little bit of gravelly minerality, light smoky nuances of phenolic spice and a hint of nutty oak.

A very balanced, complex and surprisingly concentrated Koshu that is very true to the variety - not flashy, slightly restrained and even sort of neutral in character - yet at the same time showing remarkable depth, precision and complexity for this often very understated variety. What’s more important, even though the wine is fully natural, it doesn’t taste one bit natty - apart from its slightly waxy-funky overall character, the wine is wonderfully clean and conventional in every possible way. Delicious now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this continued to improve for years more. A bit on the pricey side for a Koshu at 3005¥ / 23€, but easily delivers for the price. Highly recommended. (93 pts.)

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  • 2016 Katsunuma Jozo Koshu Aruga Branca Pipa - Japan, Chūbu, Yamanashi, Katsunuma (20.1.2022)
    This is the flagship wine of Katsunuma Jozo, along with the Issehara Terroir Koshu. Fermented and aged in used oak barrels for 6 months, after which it is bottled and aged for further two years before release. 11,5% alcohol.

Pale or medium-deep yellow-green color.Slightly restrained but also quite nuanced and fine-tuned nose with aromas of chopped herbs and savory spices, some leesy character, light creamy notes, a little bit of ripe white peach, a hint of chopped nuts and a sweeter touch of exotic fruits. Pretty lovely! The wine is rich, layered and wonderfully textural on the palate with a medium body and quite intense flavors of spicy red apple, some creaminess, light leesy notes, a little bit of stony minerality, a hint of tangy salinity and a touch of nutty wood. The high acidity lends great intensity, structure and sense of precision to the wine. The long finish is fresh and lively with an intense aftertaste of sharp Granny Smith apple and incisive steely minerality, some ripe red apple tones, light sweet notes of tropical fruit, a little bit of nutty oak, a hint of tangy salinity and a touch of apple peel bitterness.

This is consistently among the best Koshus I know. Not particularly a Burgundian wine, yet there is something that takes your mind there when tasting this wine amidst a bunch of other Koshus. The wine is not flashy or particularly “impressive” in its own right, yet it is impeccably balanced and harmonious with lots of depth and understated complexity. All in all, a wonderful, classically built Koshu that is drinking wonderfully now and will continue to improve for a good handful of years more. (94 pts.)

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Quite neutral, pale whitish-green color. Fresh, fine-tuned nose of ripe red apple and vague spicy notes, some fresh quince, a little bit of borderline unripe pear, light grassy green notes, a hint of leesy character, a floral touch of apple blossom and a whiff of ocean air. The wine is clean and slightly neutral on the palate with a rather light body and quite intense flavors of crunchy quince and tart green apple, some saline mineral notes, a little bit of grassy greenness, light leesy notes, a hint of stony minerality and a floral touch of apple blossom. Even though the wine has this kind of neutrality to it, it avoids being austere with its combination of nuances and intensity of those understated fruit flavors. The high acidity lends great sense of focus, structure and freshness to the wine. The finish is long, clean and crunchy with slightly neutral flavors of steely minerality, some tart green apple tones, a little bit of pithy bitterness and chalk dust, light leesy nuances and a hint of unripe pear.

This wine was not unlike a high-class Muscadet, showing this sort of understated fruit and bright minerality combined with high acidity and relatively light body. Although not a flashy or technically “impressive” wine, this was still a very good effort for what is a rather neutral style of Koshu, showing a bit more nuance, acidity and intensity than is expected of a simple entry-level Koshu. Although a bit predictable, this was still a very positive effort, especially for a wine coming from one of the biggest wineries in Japan. (91 pts.)

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The final four wines:


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  • 2017 Grace Winery Koshu Cuvée Misawa Akeno - Japan, Chūbu, Yamanashi, Akeno (20.1.2022)
    The flagship Koshu in the Grace Winery range, made with Koshu grapes harvested from the Misawa vineyard located in the village of Akeno within the greater region of Yamanashi. Unlike traditional Koshu vineyards, which are typically trellised in pergolas, the Misawa vineyard has been farmed using vertical shoot positioning since 2005, resulting in smaller fruit with higher sugar and malic acid content. Fermented spontaneously, aged in stainless steel tanks. A portion of wine underwent a natural MLF. 11,5% alcohol.

Very neutral and light pale green color. Rich, somewhat creamy and subtly funky nose with intense aromas of apple jam, some quince, a little bit of waxy funk, light creamy notes of leesy richness and/or MLF, a hint of beeswax, a touch of woolly lanolin and a whiff of stone dust. The wine is broad, somewhat concentrated yet still slightly neutral on the palate with a rather full body and balanced flavors of saline minerality and wet stones, lemony citrus fruits, some beeswax, a little bit of pithy pomelo, light woolly notes of lanolin and a hint of chalk dust. The overall feel is quite pronounced in minerality, but also a bit dull in character, thanks to the woolly tones and slightly understated fruit department. The moderately high acidity lends good sense of balance and structure to the wine. The finish is fresh, lively and crunchy with quite long flavors of pithy citrus fruits, some woolly lanolin, a little bit of tart green apple, light crunchy notes of quince, a hint of cantaloupe and a touch of stony minerality.

A stylish and quite noticeably mineral Koshu with good sense of balance and structure. However, even though the wine shows the textbook neutrality of Koshu, it lacks a bit in that crystalline purity typical of the variety, having so understated fruit flavors in relation to the slightly dull wet wool notes of lanolin that take a small toll on the freshness. You can taste the quality and sense of concentration here, but ultimately it falls a bit short in terms of flavor harmony - this was quite similar to the Grace Kayagatake Koshu, only with a bit more “wild” character and an added nuance of woolly character. All in all: good, but nothing spectacular. (87 pts.)

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  • 2017 Kisvin Winery Koshu Reserve - Japan, Chūbu, Yamanashi, Kōshū (20.1.2022)
    Unlike the regular Kisvin Koshu which is made from earlier-harvested grapes and aged in stainless steel, this is made with late-harvested grapes (typically early-to-mid October) and aged for 3 months in oak barrels. Bottled after one year of aging. 12,5% alcohol.

Quite pale and very slightly hazy yellow-green color. Rich, quite intense and surprisingly vegetal nose with a rather prominent streak of grassy greenness follower by aromas of birch leaves, some ripe Granny Smith apple, a little bit of cantaloupe, light floral notes of apple blossom and a hint of creaminess. The wine is fresh, lively and crunchy on the palate with a medium body and brisk, slightly vegetal flavors of birch leaves and grassy greenness, some sweeter candied notes of gummi bear, a little bit of fresh pear, light notes of quince jam, a hint of creamy oak and a touch of tangy saline minerality. The rather high acidity keeps the wine wonderfully fresh, precise and balanced. The finish is long and crisp but also a bit linear with dry yet juicy flavors of tart lemony citrus fruits and ripe green apples, some grassy vegetal tones, a little bit of leesy character, light candied notes of gummi bear, a hint of quince jam and a touch of birch leaves.

This was a bit weird in a long lineup of Koshu wines - it lacked the rather neutral profile typical of the variety, but despite its obvious ripeness it also had a somewhat odd and very atypical green overall character, lending it notes of cut grass and birch leaves. This is definitely a nice and well-made wine, but you really have to make some effort to see past the initial greenness that might take you by surprise when approaching the wine for the first time. After my initial sip I was ready to rate the wine as a disappointment, but after getting to know it better, I found myself actually being intrigued by the wine - there’s definitely a lot more to it than the first impression lets you think. A nice and definitely atypical effort for a Koshu! (88 pts.)

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  • 2017 Château Mercian Koshu Cuvée Kimihiko - Japan, Chūbu, Yamanashi, Ichikawamisato (20.1.2022)
    This Cuvée Kimihiko is a special bottling of Château Mercian’s Koshu, as all the fruit is sourced from the vineyards located around the village of Ichikawamisato, in the southwestern end of the Yamanashi basin. 11,5% alcohol.

Youthful, very slightly hazy, pale grassy-green color. Rich, ripe and sweet-toned nose with quite complex aromas of fresh peach, waxy funk, some apple jam, a little bit of stewed herbs, light leesy notes, fruity hints of ripe quince and apricot purée and a touch of grassy herbal character. The wine is broad, somewhat concentrated and even slightly extracted, yet still wonderfully zippy, crisp and light-to-medium in body with intense flavors of tangy salinity, some sharp green apple tones, a little bit of waxy funk, light pastry notes of autolysis, a hint of stony minerality and a touch of chalky bitterness. The bright, high acidity lends great intensity and sense of structure to the wine. The finish is clean and crunchy with intense, dry flavors of chalky minerality, some tart green apple, a little bit of beeswax, light grassy green nuances, a hint of leesy autolysis and a sweeter touch of peach purée.

A surprisingly impressive and complex Koshu that is quite light and delicate, as is expected of the variety, yet showing great sense of focus, intensity and concentration for such a light white. This is not unlike a very high-quality Muscadet, but with a slightly different fruit profile that retains that subtly bitter undercurrent that seems to be one of the hallmarks of Koshu, complementing the sweeter fruit notes nicely. Although very drinkable already now, this will most likely to continue to improve for a handful of years more. Among the most intense and impressive wines we had in out 14-wine Koshu tasting. Terrific stuff! (93 pts.)

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  • 2018 Chateau Jun Koshu - Japan, Chūbu, Yamanashi (20.1.2022)
    Fermented in stainless steel tanks in cool temperatures. Aged on the lees in stainless steel. 12% alcohol.

Luminous pale yellow color. Characterful and perhaps a bit odd nose with aromas of almond-driven nuttiness and melon-driven fruit notes, some very Sake-like grainy notes, a little bit of leesy creaminess, light buttery notes and perhaps a slightest hint of oxidation. It feels as though the wine has seen a bit of oak, even though the specs say it doesn’t. The wine is lively, broad and leesy on the palate with a medium body and very pronounced acidity. There are characterful and slightly evolved flavors of Sake-like grainy character and melon-like fruit, some hay, light woolly notes, a little bit of stony minerality, an oxidative hint of nuttiness and a touch of pithy grapefruit bitterness. The racy acidity lends great intensity and sense of structure to the wine. The finish is long, lively and crunchy with complex flavors of hay and woolly lanolin, some grainy notes of Sake, a little bit of lemony citrus fruit and tart Granny Smith apple, light nutty notes of almond, a hint of stony minerality and perhaps an autolytic touch of brioche.

This was a bit weird effort for a Koshu. In our 14-wine Koshu tasting, this stood apart from the other wines with its distinctively Sake-like nose - several people commented how the wine not only smelled like, but also, to a smaller extent, tasted like a dry Ginjo Sake - and also felt a bit more evolved than what one would expect from a Koshu only 3½ years old. The overall feel had a savory, subtly oxidative overall character that reminded us of a wine aged in oak, but Chateau Jun has another Koshu that is aged in oak, and - to our understanding - this entry-level Koshu doesn’t see any wood. All in all, this is a bit difficult wine to assess: I loved the brisk acidity and distinctive fruity-grainy Sake-like character here, but at the same time the wine felt a bit more tired and oxidative than what I’d like a wine only a few years old to be. Fun and interesting stuff, but with an odd twist, really. (89 pts.)

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And, finally, two (slightly disappointing) extras:


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Pale bronze color. Very evolved and slightly oxidative nose with aromas of dried yellow fruits and Sultana raisins, some malty barley wine notes, a little bit of smoke, light nuances of meat stew, a hint of hay, a touch of browned butter and a whiff of sauerkraut. The wine is tertiary and moderately oxidative on the palate with flavors of roasted nuts and caramel, some burnt sugar, light malty notes, a little bit of creamy richness and browned butter, a hint of sultana raisins and a touch of stony minerality. The medium acidity feels a bit inadequate to lend the wine any good freshness, making the overall impression a bit soft. The finish is long,rich and complex with very evolved flavors of honeyed sweetness and sultana raisins, some notes of roasted nuts, a little bit of meaty umami, light creamy nuances, a hint of tangy salinity and a touch of browned butter.

A very evolved Cali Chardonnay that feels somewhat past its peak. The wine is still fully drinkable, but especially the oxidative malty notes do take some toll on its drinkability. I guessed that the wine was mid-1990’s white Rhône with some oak influence, based on the modest acidity and notes of nuts, hay and creaminess. All in all, a good wine from the viewpoint of academic interest, but if one looks for something drinkable and enjoyable, this has already dropped out from that train. (84 pts.)

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  • NV Marguet Champagne Grand Cru Shaman 13 - France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru (20.1.2022)
    From a 0,375-liter bottle. A blend of Pinot Noir (76%) and Chardonnay (24%). Disgorged in September 2016. 12,5% alcohol.

Pale golden yellow color. At first the nose feels clean with aromas of leesy yeast, some almond-driven nuttiness, a little bit of bruised apple, light chalky notes and a hint of woolly lanolin. As the wine opens up in glass, it starts to develop some more disagreeable notes of wet wool sock and rancid nuts. The wine feels dry, crisp and quite clean on the palate with flavors of sharp lemony citrus fruits, crunchy green apples, some almondy nuttiness, a little bit of chalky minerality and light woolly notes of lanolin. The overall feel is quite racy, thanks to the high acidity and ample, crisp mousse. However, the biggest surprise comes when you swallow the wine for the first time: even though the wine feels clean and fresh on the palate, it takes a sharp turn to the worse, when the aftertaste arrives. The finish is very dull, long and unpleasant with pronounced notes of wet wool socks, some rancid walnuts, a little bit of bready oxidation and light sweaty notes. There’s nothing crisp, fresh or fruity in the aftertaste and the wine leaves a horrible, musty taste in your mouth.

A don’t know what on earth is going on here! The nose and taste are perfectly clean and OK upon opening and the taste remains fine throughout, even though the nose starts to develop some unpleasant nuances after some aeration. However, even right after p’n’p, the aftertaste is plain horrible! And it’s not mousy, it’s more like oxidized and past its peak, even though the nose and taste are not! And the person who poured the wine said he had bought a case of these half bottles upon release and they have been like this from the beginning. A real mystery. I don’t know if the wine is better from bigger-format bottles, but I honestly can’t recommend this wine in halves - it’s simply undrinkable. We couldn’t even finish the half bottle with three people. NR (flawed)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Brilliant, thank you for this comprehensive and exacting tour of Japanese wines. Having visited Japan in 2019 I have often wondered about the state of the art in that fascinating country. Will try to locate some these gems!

Cheers,
Doug

japanese wine is definitely intriguing; they seem to take the notion of craftsmanship and quality to an entirely new level in just about any discipline. beau paysage is some pretty serious stuff. i was thoroughly impressed with the bottle i tried but would have never guessed the grape to be merlot. domaine takahiko is supposed to be great as well but i could not find a bottle when i was last in japan. also very curious about the wines mr. gutlove is making at coco farm so will be on the look out for those next time. as far as koshu is concerned i had a very decent one that was made in a semi carbonic style, have to look at some notes to find the maker tho…

Great notes! I had to look this variety up, was not disappointed:

My one and only Japanese wine. Really enjoyed it.

Otto, great read.

One thing you know when Chris S. is providing the wines you’ll be off the reservation at some point with an interesting wine. Here’s a perfect example. A very nice wine, indeed.

Very light yellow in color which looks like an SB, actually. The nose is very expressive on opening and hints of flint and gun powder. Definitely old world in style. This really got me thinking white burg which I couldn’t get off of. Tart red apple flavor and lemon/lime flavors with high acidity. The wine is light bodied, almost thin, but very refreshing.

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Nice Otto.
Did you have any food with the wines. I think Koshu, much like sake, does better with something to eat.

Otto,

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts.
Always nice to see Japanese wine getting a little love here.

One or two quick points…
Firstly, Koshu is most definitely an interspecific hybrid, probably naturally occuring.
The most recent research suggests it’s genetic make-up is about 70% V. vinifera, and 30% V. davidii or something closely related. V. davidii is a lesser known species of wild grape found in southern China. Since this species isn’t really found in Japan, it is thought that Koshu was born elsewhere (probably China), and carried to Japan.
See here: Genetic Analysis of East Asian Grape Cultivars Suggests Hybridization with Wild Vitis

Secondly, re: this… “arguably the most successful grape variety grown in Japan - and also the only one that can be described as a ‘truly Japanese variety’” .
I understand where you’re coming from with these remarks. Koshu is the most prominent wine grape variety in Japan due to the fact that it’s the most widely planted and used wine grape. It also appears to be the most successful if you’re overseas because the Yamanashi Koshu producers have spent a lot of time and money promoting the grape in certain foreign markets through publicized tastings and outreach to foreign wine writers.
From a quality perspective is it the most successful grape variety?.. that’s another discussion.
For these same reasons (and one or two more), it seems as if Koshu is the only truly Japanese variety. But we have lots of grape varieties here that are essentially Japan-only… Muscat Bailey A, Shokoshi, Black Queen, Riesling Lion, Riesling Forte, Koshu Sanjaku, to name but a few.

Regards,

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I have no idea how available Japanese wines are over there, at least around here it’s virtually impossible to find anything more than one or two Koshus and can’t remember if I’ve ever seen any other variety represented! To my understanding not much Japanese wine is exported, and I guess one of the reasons is the price: it’s not cheap to make wine in Japan, so the wines really aren’t that affordable over there - and they get even more expensive once they’re exported! That usually translates to people thinking the wines really aren’t worth the price.

But yeah, I actually visited Japan in 2018, spent a better part of the month not only touring around the main island, but also constantly looking for different wines from all around the country, in wine shops, bars and restaurants. I also spent half a week in Yamanashi, visiting several producers and going through about half a hundred local wines in the local wine center/hotel, Budou no Oka. Based on my experience, the Japanese wines are VERY variable in quality, ranging from excellent, world-class wines to truly horrible wines that taste like disappointing home-made wines even when they are commercially released and marketed wines! [wow.gif]

I think that some do. I’ve read about some naturalist producers in Nagano that are really pushing the envelope when it comes to making quality wine in Japan. But then again, there are lots of wine producers in Japan - especially in Yamanashi, where a lion’s share of wine is made - that still seem to be making wine not in a particularly quality-oriented way, just in the way they’ve been making wine for the past 50 years.

And when it comes to carbonic Koshu, I think most (not all!) orange wines made from Koshu are made using carbonic maceration. At least of the good handful of orange Koshus I’ve tasted, I was surprised to learn that several were made with semi-carbonic maceration.

Indeed! When I visited Yamanashi, it was only May, so the grapes were nothing more than tiny pips, yet in many vineyards all the tiny bunches were already covered with these wax paper hats! Didn’t get the chance to see Koshu in all its pink glory, though.

We actually did have some makizushi. However, as this was a tasting event with small tasting pours, the emphasis was not on wine-and-food pairing as there was not enough wine to go as food wine.

I do agree that the somewhat neutral flavor profile of Koshu does go really well with many lighter and more delicate Japanese dishes.

Sake is a different kind of beast. Some sakes do go really well with food, but some are so complex yet delicate that they’d just simply get overwhelmed with food - especially as most sakes don’t have any acidity that helps beverage to pair well with food. Others (I’m thinking of those modern, super-rich Daiginjo sakes) are just too sweet and overblown to work well with food. They might be very impressive on their own for a small glass, but they are just too sweet and overwhelming to go that well with food. So in that sense I wouldn’t clump up all sake as one big thing that can be generalized, but just as with wine, see all the different styles and how differently they behave in different situations!

Hi Bruce and thanks for the lengthy reply!

Regarding on your first point, I think there hasn’t been any conclusive research on whether Koshu was born in Japan or elsewhere. It’s obvious that Koshu (or its parents) has come elsewhere, since V. vitifera isn’t native to Japan. It’s also obvious that the crossing with V. davidii must’ve happened in China, but since the parentage isn’t clean 50% vitifera/davidii, it’s obvious that one of Koshu’s ancestors must’ve been a vitifera x davidii cross, not its direct parents, making it unclear at what point the cross has happened. It also remains unclear whether the variety we know as Koshu came to be already in China and was brought to Japan (making it technically a Chinese variety) or if the Chinese brought several different grape varieties to Japan and at some point two of these made a cross in Japan, creating the variety we know now as Koshu (making it a Japanese variety). Even the (very interesting) article you linked here echoes this point in the final lines of its last chapter. Since the people who worked with grape vines in Japan centuries ago probably didn’t have much ampelographical knowledge back then and definitely didn’t keep any track of which varieties were grown and where, it might be impossible to ever know exactly what happened.

Regarding your second point, I assure you the view there was my own and not one of Yamanashi Koshu producers! You mentioned how they’ve spent a lot of time and money promoting the grape, but when it comes to Europe - or especially a market as marginal as Finland - we never see any Koshu here! Or any promotional material, or even objective information. All the knowledge I have of Japanese wines is based on information I’ve read in books or articles and what I learned in Japan visiting producers and drinking local wines.

Although I haven’t tasted all of the grapes you mentioned (namely the Riesling crosses and Koshu Sanjaku), I’m familiar with all of them. And having tasted multiple versions of most of these crosses, I still consider Koshu to be a more successful Japanese variety than any of these. Although I’ve had some surprisingly good MBA and Black Queen wines, I don’t count any of them among the best Japanese red wines I’ve tasted - I think red wines made entirely or mostly from V. vitifera varieties simply yield better results. Although MBA or Black Queen don’t seem to suffer from any foxy qualities, MBA too often comes across as a bit too linear and one-dimensional in character - it seems more like a variety that is suitable for bringing in freshness and lighter body to a blend rather than working on its own. Varietal Black Queen, on the other hand, tends to have a too sweetly-fruited, marmaladey quality to its aromatics to be taken seriously, even when fermented fully dry. And from my experiences, Shoukoushi is just way too foxy to make wines that could be compared to red wines made from V. Vitifera - even if the variety can make surprisingly impressive wines despite their foxy qualities!

I’ve also tasted a lot of other Japanese hybrids with very mixed results. Ultimately, I think that at the moment Koshu is the only Japanese variety capable of making truly world-class wines that can be favorably compared to the best wines from any other country. If somebody told me so, I would believe that some other Japanese variety or varieties would make wines of similarly high quality, but I’ve yet to taste one! I honestly came to Japan wanting to taste all kinds of Japanese wines, just to see how the varieties we never see outside Japan perform, but after tasting about a hundred different wines, I’ve come to believe that Koshu shows the most promise and at least for now, the Koshu wines on average simply yield better and more serious wines than the other Japanese varieties. The best non-Koshu ones that I’ve tasted have been surprisingly good and immensely enjoyable, but not really wines I’d describe as world-class (and to be clear, I’d say that probably 95-98% of Koshu isn’t world-class either; I think that currently it’s just the only variety that with deft hands and correct viticulture can be made into a world-class wine). One should bear in mind, though, that I’ve yet to taste any Riesling Lion or Riesling Forte, so jury is still out on those two varieties!

And when it comes to me saying how Koshu is the only “truly Japanese variety”, it comes from the fact that not only is it cultivated virtually exclusively in Japan (and IIRC Black Queen is a popular grape in Taiwan), but I’ve understood that all the other “Japanese grape varieties” are crossed hybrids (or varieties? I don’t know if there are any Japanese 100% V. vitifera crosses), not natural crosses. I do agree that all these hybrids and crosses mentioned here are Japanese in the sense that they were crossed in Japan and most of them are also cultivated exclusively in Japan, but to my understanding, Koshu is the only one that has just “appeared” in Japan (well, brought by man, but that has happened to virtually all the grape varieties in the world), not specifically crossed at a breeding station or in a research center (I clump Koshu Sanjaku together with Koshu here, seeing how they are supposedly closely related) and it doesn’t exist anywhere else. But I guess this all depends on a point of view. For example some might consider Alicante Bouschet to be a French variety or Zilga to be a Latvian variety, but more often I see those described as “a variety crossed in France” or a “hybrid crossed in Latvia”, which is also terminology I’d rather use, too! I hope this cleared my point to some degree.

Finally, I have a question! I suppose you have encountered a variety known as “Adiron” that is cultivated in Japan. Do you have any information on this variety? I’ve drank multiple Adiron wines (boy are they foxy!) but I haven’t managed to find any information on the variety. Some source said the variety is 100% V. labrusca, which would explain the foxy aromatics, but I haven’t found anything to confirm this. I’d also love to hear more information about Shoukoushi, if you have any!

I’ve been to Japan 5 times and never had a drinkable wine. Thanks for the recs. Will look for them this fall.

And same to you.
I appreciate your thoughts on this.

A few feedback comments from me, and an answer to your question…

All the knowledge I have of Japanese wines is based on information I’ve read in books or articles and what I learned in Japan visiting producers and drinking local wines.

I don’t know what you’ve read, so I can’t speak specifically to that.
But a lot of English language articles are informed by the PR drive I was talking about. It targeted the English wine press and wine trade in particular, and many people have used these initial write-ups as reference materials. Even some of the comments we get in Japan, from producers and liquor trade members, appear to be based upon comments from the UK wine press.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that per se. But some of the information is outdated or a product of some less-than-truthful dis-information. And, as with all interactins between winegrowers and wine writers, the observer effect applies.


Ultimately, I think that at the moment Koshu is the only Japanese variety capable of making truly world-class wines that can be favorably compared to the best wines from any other country.

My initial comment was based upon your first post, wherein you said Koshu is “arguably the most successful grape variety grown in Japan”.
I didn’t take that as restricting the field of candidates to (more or less) Japan-only varieties, but thought you were making a comment about all wines made from Japan-grown grapes.
In any discussion of the subject it’d probably be best to clarify what we mean by “most successful”. But if we’re talking only about quality of the wines, I think there are a number of cultivars that have made Japanese wines of a quality level equal to or surpassing (may my friends in Yamanashi forgive me!) the best Koshu wines.
If we limit the discuss of success to Japan-only varieties, my personal opinion is that the best MBA, Shokoshi, and Riesling Lion are certainly as good as anything being made from Koshu. Koshu enjoys the benefit of being made in extremely large quantities, of being the signature grape (maybe) of the historic heart of our wine industry (Yamanashi), and thus of receiving a lot of attention, research, and money invested in improvements to its viticulture and winemaking.
Enologically speaking, it doesn’t have any particular characters that mark it as an exceptional grape… it is a neutral variety, with aggressive tannins in the skins, and a propensity to poor sugar accumulation. The neutral nature of the grape is among its most important assets, as it allows for many styles of wine to be made from the same grape. I’ve used it to make petnat, methode traditionelle, off dry whites (think Orvieto with some RS), barrel fermented dry whites, orange wines, and passito wines.
I’m not trying to diss Koshu… I like drinking it, and I’ve enjoyed making wine from it (I’ve crushed more than 1,000 tons of it over the years). I just think if someone is interested in the better quality domestic Japanese wines they should actively be seeking out non-Koshu wines as well.
[And that wasn’t directed towards you… I understand that you have a comprehensive background in tasting broadly across a range of Japanese wines… it was more of a general comment to anyone who might be reading.]


If somebody told me so, I would believe that some other Japanese variety or varieties would make wines of similarly high quality, but I’ve yet to taste one!

As I’ve said above, I disagree with this. But taste is a personal matter.


And when it comes to me saying how Koshu is the only “truly Japanese variety”, it comes from the fact that not only is it cultivated virtually exclusively in Japan (and IIRC Black Queen is a popular grape in Taiwan), but I’ve understood that all the other “Japanese grape varieties” are crossed hybrids (or varieties? I don’t know if there are any Japanese 100% > V. vitifera > crosses), not natural crosses.

I guess you’ve never enjoyed a glass of Rheingau Koshu (Koshu | Weingut Schönleber-Blümlein in Oestrich-Winkel)…
Your point about Koshu being a naturally occuring indigenous variety is true, and if that’s the yardstick then it and Koshu Sanjaku are our only “truly Japanese” varieties.


Finally, I have a question! I suppose you have encountered a variety known as “Adiron” that is cultivated in Japan. Do you have any information on this variety? I’ve drank multiple Adiron wines (boy are they foxy!) but I haven’t managed to find any information on the variety. Some source said the variety is 100% > V. labrusca> , which would explain the foxy aromatics, but I haven’t found anything to confirm this. I’d also love to hear more information about Shoukoushi, if you have any!

“Adiron” is the Japanese name for Adirondac, a V. labrusca cross developed in the US in the 1800s (ADIRONDAC). I haven’t used it, and probably won’t… as you say, very foxy.
Shoukoushi is an interesting grape. I’ve worked with it for about 20 years now. I originally became aware of it when visiting the vineyards of the breeder who developed it. Of all the hybrids he produced, this one stood out for its intensity of flavor and color, and for its ability to sugar up. The breeder (Mr. Sawanobori… he’s since passed on) said the variety was the result of a cross between Vitis amurensis and “something from the Himalayas”. Years later his brother (also a grape grower, also no longer with us) told me it was a cross of V. amurensis and the grape cultivar “Himalaya”… I’ve never found evidence of a grape variety called “Himalaya” so I really don’t know what to think.
It’s a teinturier variety of exceptionally deep color. It also ripens up very fast, going from veraison to harvestability (with reasonable ripeness) in 3 weeks time. It is also a very early ripener. We harvest it in our Tochigi prefecture vineyards (a little north of Tokyo) in mid-August. Muscat Bailey A from the same region is harvested in mid-to-late October. It prduces respectable yields and will produce potential alcohols of 14% if harvest is delayed. Unfortunately, it is very thin skinned, and so is prone to berry splitting in regions that see post-veraison rainfalls (ie., all of Japan). Some people grow it in greenhouses to avoid splitting, and grapes grown this way can make some very serious, full bodied, spicey red wines… sometimes reminds me of Primitivo.
Because of the risk of berry splitting, we tend to make it into a petnat… it has many characters that make it ideal for nouveau wines.
Addendum: And, no… I have no idea what would possess anyone to name a grape “Little Lord Fauntleroy”.

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I’d say you’ve had exceptionally bad luck if you’ve never found a drinkable Japanese wine.

When I first arrived here most of the local stuff was oxidized, overly chaptalized, overly sweet, heat pasteurized plonk that didn’t go down well if your idea of drinkable wine was based upon examples from Europe and the New World. Many of the practices of the time were borrowed from sake production, and geared towards producing for a market that had preferences markedly different from the European model.
But there has been a fairly large shift away from all that, towards wines that are more in line with what we see in the west. And basic recent-technology enological practices have pretty much permeated throughout the industry.

Two points to mention for those who might dip their feet in the waters:
-We’re currently going through a period of uneven consistency because of a flood of new wineries that have come on line recently. In 2011 there were 210 licensed wineries in Japan. By 2021 that number had increased to 440 wineries. Unfortunately, the country doesn’t have a very good system of preparing new grape growers and winemakers… we have only one university that has a dedicated winemaking course (Yamanashi University), and that one is seen as being provincial, of service only to people who are going to be growing wine in Yamanashi prefecture (unfortunately, I might add, as they have a very talented, dedicated bunch of profs there). And there really isn’t a system of apprenticeship set up by the industry to provide training. Some of the newer wineries can make some pretty iffy wines, and time will tell if they get it together.
-The only way to taste most of the most highly regarded Japanese wines (assuming you don’t have any special contacts) is to visit a restaurant that carries them. The quantities are small, and interest is high. Liquor stores very rarely put them on their shelves, but use their small inventories for special purposes–to sell on to restaurants, to sell to favored customers, or to open at periodic in-store tastings. So your best bet it to visit a highly regarded restaurant that has long supported the domestic wine industry. In most of the larger cities in Japan there will be a few to choose from.

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Some of the notes remind me of the (generous) notes of Finger Lakes grown hybrid wines made in the 1980’s/90’s.
Haven’t yet tried a Japanese wine and unlikely to unless I go there.

Thanks once again for some wonderful notes, Otto. I know your notes are intensely and intentionally personal view in nature but would be curious as to whether your group had some consensus on the top wines.

I’ve only had one Koshu and one Mercian, but am happy to post notes here. The Koshu note is from July 2016 and the bottle had been capped but open for a couple of days

2010 Magrez-Aruga Koshu Isehara

So the thing is, when I was in Bordeaux in 2014 and visiting at Pape Clement, they had this on the shelf. I absolutely had to grab a bottle and it cemented my decision to have a “Final Frontiers” table. Koshu is the traditional Japanese grape. Read on, brave souls. The nose reminds me a bit of leeks and there’s also a scented soap thing here mixed with some lemongrass. Not offensive, just interesting. But on the palate, well now. Very flowery—almost liquid potpourri—drinking this cold is a must and it’ll never be mistaken for Grand Cru burg, but it is fresh and giving in its own gentle way. In fact, later, it’s orange blossom and orange….and a dead ringer for a Muskat.

The Mercian was a blind poured by (I do miss him) Ralph Earle in February 2017 on a wonderful night in Honolulu

“Next was a mystery red from him. I initially thought this might be a little corked, but as we traded it through various glasses, it proved not to be at all. Even more fun, this had older scents, some wood varnish and light cocoa and earth around muted dried red berry and cherry. To taste, it has a thinness, but in proportion to where the wine is now. My own guess was an older Cali Cab. None of us came close, as the reveal presented us with a 1997 Chateau Mercian Merlot. This is from….Japan!! Yes, a Japanese merlot. And I wouldn’t kick this out of bed at all, probably an 87-ish for me, and I don’t grade generously. I might have had a hard time guessing merlot, but this has requisite character. Very glad to have had the chance to sample it.”

I could imagine some are quite readily available in the States - unlike around here - so I recommend checking out one, just of curiosity’s sake, if for nothing else.

Normally we don’t really do this kind of stuff, we just discuss the wines we taste on a more general level (unless certain wines really stand out), but this time we did record the group favorites!

We were asked to nominate one to four standout wines. Katsunuma Jozo Aruga Branca Pipa was unanimously agreed upon that it was a great wine indeed. More than half of the votes went to Château Mercian Cuvée Kimihiko and (weirdly, IMO) Ikeda Grande Cuvée.

The only wines that didn’t receive one single vote were the Aruga Branca Brilhante sparkling and Soryu Curious Type-N.

I’ve only had one Koshu and one Mercian, but am happy to post notes here. The Koshu note is from July 2016 and the bottle had been capped but open for a couple of days

2010 Magrez-Aruga Koshu Isehara

So the thing is, when I was in Bordeaux in 2014 and visiting at Pape Clement, they had this on the shelf. I absolutely had to grab a bottle and it cemented my decision to have a “Final Frontiers” table. Koshu is the traditional Japanese grape. Read on, brave souls. The nose reminds me a bit of leeks and there’s also a scented soap thing here mixed with some lemongrass. Not offensive, just interesting. But on the palate, well now. Very flowery—almost liquid potpourri—drinking this cold is a must and it’ll never be mistaken for Grand Cru burg, but it is fresh and giving in its own gentle way. In fact, later, it’s orange blossom and orange….and a dead ringer for a Muskat.

I’ve had this same wine, although it was 2011 vintage. I don’t know how the vintages were in Japan and whether there was a big difference between these wines. However, I was left with a very lukewarm impression.

Pale green color. Slightly greenish, reticent yet nicely nuanced nose with underplayed elegance: white fruits, fresh pear, some herbaceous nuances, a hint of Grüner Veltliner-ish white pepper and a touch of stone dust. Light, pure and clean in the mouth with steely overall appearance and medium-minus acidity. Flavors of ripe apples and sweet lemony citrus fruits with almost springwater-like minerality. The mouthfeel is soft and the wine feels a little thin and flabby - a characteristic that seems to get more pronounced as the wine gets warmer. Clean, neutral, steely, mid-length finish with faint hints of yellow apple in the aftertaste.

As clean and neutral as one can expect a Koshu to be. Very Petit Chablis-like in its steely and appley style, although the acidity of this wine is far lower than anything from Chablis. Because of its low-ish acidity the wine seems to lack intensity and structure, making it appear flabby and diluted. Probably a good fit for Japanese dishes, but otherwise it is hard to come up with any real purpose for this wine: it is boring on its own and lacks structure to be a versatile food wine. As the wine drinks like a 10€ wine, its price tag of 49,20€ seems honestly quite ridiculous. (73 pts.)

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Mainly I stick to either stuff that at least is supposed to be mainly neutral (like books on wine, including information on Japanese wine), reports on people who know about wine and visit Japan - for example Jamie Goode had some excellent reports on tiny Japanese producers on his visits to Japan - or the few, rare Japanese academic articles that are translated to (or written in) English. I really don’t read traditional wine media at all, so that’s why I might’ve missed most of that Japanese PR stuff rewritten into articles.

When visiting wineries, basically the only place where we actually got some information was Lumière, as they were the only place where they had a staff member who actually knew any English. In all the remaining wineries we had to make do with our very limited Japanese vocabulary!

My initial comment was based upon your first post, wherein you said Koshu is “arguably the most successful grape variety grown in Japan”.
I didn’t take that as restricting the field of candidates to (more or less) Japan-only varieties, but thought you were making a comment about all wines made from Japan-grown grapes.
In any discussion of the subject it’d probably be best to clarify what we mean by “most successful”. But if we’re talking only about quality of the wines, I think there are a number of cultivars that have made Japanese wines of a quality level equal to or surpassing (may my friends in Yamanashi forgive me!) the best Koshu wines.
If we limit the discuss of success to Japan-only varieties, my personal opinion is that the best MBA, Shokoshi, and Riesling Lion are certainly as good as anything being made from Koshu. Koshu enjoys the benefit of being made in extremely large quantities, of being the signature grape (maybe) of the historic heart of our wine industry (Yamanashi), and thus of receiving a lot of attention, research, and money invested in improvements to its viticulture and winemaking.
Enologically speaking, it doesn’t have any particular characters that mark it as an exceptional grape… it is a neutral variety, with aggressive tannins in the skins, and a propensity to poor sugar accumulation. The neutral nature of the grape is among its most important assets, as it allows for many styles of wine to be made from the same grape. I’ve used it to make petnat, methode traditionelle, off dry whites (think Orvieto with some RS), barrel fermented dry whites, orange wines, and passito wines.
I’m not trying to diss Koshu… I like drinking it, and I’ve enjoyed making wine from it (I’ve crushed more than 1,000 tons of it over the years). I just think if someone is interested in the better quality domestic Japanese wines they should actively be seeking out non-Koshu wines as well.
[And that wasn’t directed towards you… I understand that you have a comprehensive background in tasting broadly across a range of Japanese wines… it was more of a general comment to anyone who might be reading.]

I do agree, I could’ve been more clear in my initial post on the division on strictly Japanese varieties, not all grapes grown in Japan.

I’d certainly want to taste the Riesling Lion, Riesling Forte and Koshu Sanjaku wines, because not a single bottle has ever come my way and I don’t know what to expect from one.

I do agree with you that Koshu doesn’t have any particular characteristics that would really mark it as an exceptional grape, but then again, so are varieties like Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc, too! They normally can make quite (or even very) neutral wines, but in deft hands can be transformed into spectacular wines that I (and many others) count among some of the best whites in existence! Sure, with too much ripeness, Chardonnays and Chenins might get big and tropical, unlike Koshu, but I usually find these wines banal and uninteresting anyway.

For me, neutrality isn’t necessarily a negative thing - at least once can see the distinction between boring blandness and positive neutrality. For example the Tomi no oka and Château Mercian Cuvée Kimihiko Koshus we had here in this tasting were definitely neutral in character, as is typical for Koshu, yet they were still very much to my liking, coming across as quite similar to other neutral whites like high-quality Muscadet or 1er Cru Chablis.

I’d argue that Koshu really seems to benefit from oak aging, since almost all of the best Koshus that I’ve tasted have been aged in oak, but it is imperative that the barrels are as old and neutral as possible. At Budou no Oka, we tasted some Koshus aged in (at least partly) new oak barrels and it seems that even relatively little new oak easily overwhelms such a neutral variety. However, when comparing Koshus aged in stainless steel tanks to those aged in old (and often quite large?) oak barrels, I prefer the breadth, sense of nuance and understated complexity they give to the wine. The difference is not dissimilar to a Chablis aged in stainless steel vs. 1er Cru Chablis aged in old, neutral oak pièces. What is your view on how Koshu behaves with oak?

Poor sugar accumulation, in turn, seems to be more a boon than a curse in a world where the temperatures are going up! Sure, it can be problematic in cooler and/or wetter years, if Koshu honestly struggles to ripen, but I’d rather drink a white at 11% than 14%. To tell you the truth, I am starting to have problems with white Burgundies that might be otherwise fresh and balanced, but are clocking in at 14% alcohol. And tannins? I’ve had some terrific skin-contact Koshus with quite serious tannic grip, and loved them for their sense of structure and capability to stand up to heartier dishes! I really don’t think grape’s tannins are a problem as long as the producer knows what they’re doing.

I wholeheartedly agree with you in that obviously Koshu benefits from being so popular, receiving all that attention, research and investment. That might also be the key reason why I think Koshu is the most successful variety to come out of Japan - there are just so many more high-quality Koshus compared to any other variety, so it’s so much easier to find Koshus that are not merely good, but actually very impressive in all respects.

I do have to admit that even when I tried to taste as many other Japanese grape varieties as possible during my visit, my experience with MBA and other varieties is still rather limited. I’ve had some very good examples made out of it, but - as I’ve said before - I’ve yet to taste one that would actually go beyond that. Based on the examples I’ve tasted thus far, I’ve gotten a picture of MBA as a variety that is capable of making wines people would say “this is very nice”, but really not wines people would cry out “now this is a grand vin!” - whereas Koshu has already done that for us! But, I’m most open for any suggestions that would change my mind! And to make things clear, I don’t mean this as a challenge of any sorts, just an honest inquiry on high-quality wines I should keep in my radar! :smiley:

And finally, I want to also emphasize that even after all this, I’m really not a big fan of Koshu. Afer all, many Koshu wines that I’ve tasted have been either bland or boring (even many in this tasting) and only a small handful of them have managed to actually be something more meaningful. Koshu, at its basic level, is definitely a grape well-suited to make rather uninteresting everyday wine (just like Chenin Blanc in South Africa or Chardonnay basically everywhere), but that doesn’t mean that the best wines wouldn’t be exceptional. (And I’ve no reason to believe that Koshu Sanjaku and the Koshu crosses are similarly capable - I just haven’t tasted any of them to confirm this!)

As I’ve said above, I disagree with this. But taste is a personal matter.

That is definitely true. After all, there are also tons of very highly-regarded world-class wines I find rather uninteresting - occasionally even perplexing in how they can make people think they are actually good - so, yes, taste definitely matters here a lot! [cheers.gif]

“Adiron” is the Japanese name for Adirondac, a > V. labrusca > cross developed in the US in the 1800s (> ADIRONDAC> ). I haven’t used it, and probably won’t… as you say, very foxy.
Shoukoushi is an interesting grape. I’ve worked with it for about 20 years now. I originally became aware of it when visiting the vineyards of the breeder who developed it. Of all the hybrids he produced, this one stood out for its intensity of flavor and color, and for its ability to sugar up. The breeder (Mr. Sawanobori… he’s since passed on) said the variety was the result of a cross between > Vitis amurensis > and “something from the Himalayas”. Years later his brother (also a grape grower, also no longer with us) told me it was a cross of > V. amurensis > and the grape cultivar “Himalaya”… I’ve never found evidence of a grape variety called “Himalaya” so I really don’t know what to think.
It’s a teinturier variety of exceptionally deep color. It also ripens up very fast, going from veraison to harvestability (with reasonable ripeness) in 3 weeks time. It is also a very early ripener. We harvest it in our Tochigi prefecture vineyards (a little north of Tokyo) in mid-August. Muscat Bailey A from the same region is harvested in mid-to-late October. It prduces respectable yields and will produce potential alcohols of 14% if harvest is delayed. Unfortunately, it is very thin skinned, and so is prone to berry splitting in regions that see post-veraison rainfalls (ie., all of Japan). Some people grow it in greenhouses to avoid splitting, and grapes grown this way can make some very serious, full bodied, spicey red wines… sometimes reminds me of Primitivo.
Because of the risk of berry splitting, we tend to make it into a petnat… it has many characters that make it ideal for nouveau wines.
Addendum: And, no… I have no idea what would possess anyone to name a grape “Little Lord Fauntleroy”.

Great stuff, thanks! Especially the information on the breeder and its history was very interesting.

Thus far I’ve had only one Shoukoushi, which was very interesting and of high quality, but I felt a great part of the delectation came from the age, as it was a red wine already almost 10 years old at the time. However, by the sound of it, it seems like it definitely shows many hybrid/non-vitifera qualities (quick and early ripening, thin skins, propensity to berry splitting, etc.) which ultimately might limit its potential in making truly great wines. I believe you in that it might be a great variety to make interesting quality wines in such a marginal climate as Japan, but if its best uses for the most part are pet-nat and nouveau-style wines, it really doesn’t sound like a variety that would honestly make truly world-class wines! I am certainly open to change my view on the matter, but I must be honest, a Japanese wine reminiscent of Primitivo doesn’t sound too appealing to me. :smiley:

And a fun tidbit on the name, never thought of that before! :smiley:

I do agree that Adiron is way too foxy to make anything that could be taken seriously. It was probably responsible of all the foxiest wines we tasted in Japan! :smiley: In dry red wines it at times managed to work for a few sips, but then became just way too overpowering and making the wine feel quite yucky rather quick (especially as the dry Adirons seemed to be rather thin and light in body). In sweet fortified wines it worked noticeably better, as the sweet, candied and at times almost medicinal notes played surprisingly well with the fuller body, sweeter taste and more extracted body of the wine.

I’ve had very good Koshu made exclusively in stainless, where it produces a lighter, gently aromatic wine.
I’m not a fan of oak in general, having a lower tolerance than most people I know. But I think it can work well with Koshu to make a broader, nuanced wine. More than the oak perhaps, the oxidative elevage seems to do it. I’ve been participating on a project using concrete eggs for post-fermentation elevage of Koshu with encouraging results similar to the oak effect (without the oak).


Poor sugar accumulation, in turn, seems to be more a boon than a curse in a world where the temperatures are going up! Sure, it can be problematic in cooler and/or wetter years, if Koshu honestly struggles to ripen, but I’d rather drink a white at 11% than 14%.

Most of the 11% Koshu available are also chaptallized, but that’s neither here nor there.


I really don’t think grape’s tannins are a problem as long as the producer knows what they’re doing.

The tannins can be managed, but that usually entails hyper-ox and a bucketload of fining agents. This strips character from a wine that was noticeably delicate/neutral to begin with.


but really not wines people would cry out “now this is a > grand vin> !” - whereas Koshu has already done that for us!

I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say that about Koshu before.
Gives me hope…

Cheers,

Interesting tasting, Otto!

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Great post and thread. Thank you, Otto. Only on WB!

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this was a very fun read. i was lucky enough to land a table last March when Noma did a pop up in Kyoto for during sakura. below are the wines they poured as part of the tasting. thought this group might find it interesting what a world class restaurant thought to source and pour!


Beau Paysage - Tsugane Chardonnay

Domaine Mont - Dom Gris

Domaine Takahiko - Nana-Tsu-Mori Pinot Noir

Masanobu Fukuoka - Amanatsu Wine

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