If you like sancerre, you will love koshu. Wine Guru is pleased to introduce to you Grace Wine, a family-owned winery in Yamanashi, Japan that produces wines (mainly white) from Koshu. Koshu is Japan's native grape variety. As a pioneer in Japanese winemaking, Grace Wine has received numerous Decanter Awards for the excellence and elegance of its wines.
Grace wines are well known around the world and the winemaker, Ayana Misawa speaks perfect English, studied winemaking in Bordeaux and has worked the vintage at various wineries outside Japan, including three in Australia: Brokenwood (tastings), Woodlands (tasting) and Hardy’s (tasting).
Her speciality is the native Japanese white grape koshu, which makes an extremely delicate, subtle dry wine. Indeed, it is so delicate that it invites comparison with Japan’s more famous alcoholic drink, sake. As with sake – it’s often said – the most prized attributes are lightness, refinement and subtlety.
They try to make wine in a way as natural as possible and strive to bring out the natural balance in the wine with their enthusiasm not to lose grapes in the process of fermentation and storage.
Crystal clear, bright pale lemon with a grey tinge. Medium intense citrus aromas reminiscent of lemon and grapefruit, nuances of mineral redolent of scratched stones. Powerful attack on the palate, with strong and assertive acidity, modest but elegant bitterness extending to the mid-palate, finished off with mouth-filling mineral-like umami.