Japan's growers take the koshu grape to new levels

Lightness and precision are attributes that are highly prized in Japan. So it is hardly surprising that when it comes to Japanese wine, it offers us a beguiling mix of freshness and delicacy.

This was my overriding impression when I tuned in to two Japanese wine tastings. The first, hosted by 67 Pall Mall with master sommeliers Ronan Sayburn and Toru Takamatsu, and the second an inspiring seafood sashimi and wine pairing with Jfoodo with wine expert Sarah Abbott MW.

At each tasting, they focused on Japan’s most prized grape, delicate pink-hued koshu. According to Abbott, thick-skinned koshu is 70 per cent vitis vinifera and 30 per cent vitis labrusca, giving it the ability to thrive in this ‘preposterous’ climate.

“Japan has a long history and heritage of traditional foods, drinks and crafts, with a wine culture that began in 1800s,” explains Abbott. “Their artisanal attitude and attention to detail is now focused on dry koshu, whereas in the past wines were made sweeter.”

The new dry koshu style is more suited to western tastes. My last experience of tasting koshu had been seven years ago. Now artisan producers like Kurambon, Grace Vineyards and Chateau Mercian are fine-tuning still and sparkling koshu, experimenting with restricted sugar levels, extended skin contact, lees ageing, oak, amphora and Georgian Qvevri ageing, to make a fascinating broad range.

“Koshu is quite adaptable,” says Sayburn. “It has a muted nose with high acid, low sugar and precise palate similar to Spain’s palomino grape; depending on how it is made it can develop citric, peach, apricot or even sake flavours and reminds me of pinot gris, muscat, semillon and assyrtiko.”

Interestingly my favourite at both tastings was this same wine – a beautiful ‘orange’ Gris de Gris with a light apricot-skin hue made from a mix of stainless steel and oak. Historic Yamanashi is home to 80 of Japan’s 300 plus wineries. A rural area, just one hour west of Tokyo, it's now home to the most beautiful wineries in traditional buildings set in a land-locked area surrounded by a cauldron of mountains.

Koshu is planted in fragmented vineyard plots across Yamanashi’s valleys and up on slopes. “It is all about altitude here,” says Abbott. The most prized koshu plantings are on steep volcanic vineyards at 500m-700m, benefiting from diurnal temperatures.

Chateau Mercian’s Gris de Gris actually hails from Fuefuki, one of the 13 districts in Yamanashi’s prefecture south of Katsunuma where the microclimate is like a heat trap, with humidity and persistent cloud cover, similar to New South Wales.

Despite these challenging growing conditions, the Japanese seem ingenious at nurturing koshu in the humid heat. Some favour pergolas for aeration, others like Grace Vineyards prefer vertical shoot positioning canopies to help them restrict yields and focus on organic viticulture.

DRY WHITE Hishiyama Vineyard Koshu Private Reserve 2019 Grace Vineyards

Single vineyard wine with floral and saline notes, orange peel, citrus and good fruit depth; a fresh, vibrant, unoaked example from koshu grown on granite at 500-600m altitude. £19.69, Strictly Wine; £22, Corking Wines

Iwasaku Koshu 2019 Chateau Mercian

Overtly fruity well-made koshu from Iwasaku district, quite sauvignon blanc-like with its pungency and fleshy fruits.

£20, Villeneuve Wines

Iwade Koshu Kuroka ‘Cuvee Ueno’ 2019 Chateau Mercian

Experimental wine from Iwade district north east of Kofu where soils are sandy and well drained. Made in a natural wine style, it has herby, smoky, reductive notes with a rich mouthfeel and bracing saline edge.

£30, Boutinot Wines

ORANGE Fuefuki Koshu ‘Gris de Gris’ 2019 Chateau Mercian STAR BUY

Delightful apricot-tinged koshu with apple and pearskin flavours, light vanilla notes, well structured with a long saline savoury finish. Outstanding winner.

£17.99-£20, North & South Wines; The Good Wine Shop

RED N Muscat Bailey A 2019 Kurambon Wine

Perfumed raspberry fruits, light redcurrant flavours, dried herb notes and bright acidity; like a cross between gamay and frappato.

£30, www.winesearcher.com

Join Rose’s Looking East wine tastings on 16 and 23 April in association with Corney & Barrow, www. rosemurraybrown.com