Koshu wines are, not surprisingly, very Japanese in style: pure, uncluttered and ethereal but at the same time they offer a true, consistent depth conferring them an almost cerebral character – which by no means excludes an emotional approach. Koshu is definitely part of the extraordinary gastronomic landscape of the island.
The first impression the visitor has when arriving to Yamanashi after one hour and a half train ride from Tokyo is that of a deeply rural area where everything is at mode scale: the cars, the houses, the vineyard plots and even the streets, narrow and covered with vegetation. It is a miniature green garden. The fight is clear between agricultural land and real estate pressures. But there is more to it still: an enchanted serenity also overwhelms the wine tourist. Let’s enter then into the magic of the place and the grape!
An ancient grape grown in extreme conditions.
Koshu grape has a long history in Japan. This vitis vinifera variety that originated by the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region and introduced supposedly from Eurasia transported along the Silk Road or crossbred in Japan from two vinifera parents, is known since the seventeenth century. In any case, Koshu’s DNA is unique (its profile does not match any other known variety) and its exact origin remains unknown.
Growing conditions are fairly extreme and complicated by a tough local climate. Japan is caught between Asia and the Pacific, the largest land and sea masses in the world, which makes the climate of Japan so specific. It receives cold winds from Siberia in winter, monsoons from the Pacific and the Sea of Japan in spring and summer. Then the rainy season arrives in June and July, with typhoons striking the island between July and October. So there is an ongoing struggle against humidity and growing grapes in the island is not an easy task. However, Yamanashi prefecture is one with the lowest rainfall in the country and also has the highest average temperatures and the earliest bud break, flowering and vintage. Generally speaking, Katsunuma receives more than 2.000 sunshine hours a year and an average rainfall of between 900 mm to 1.200 mm a year.
Koshu pink-skinned variety, offers medium-sized bunches and has large, thick-skinned berries. It is a vigorous, mid to late budding and late ripening variety (the harvest takes place from the end of September to the middle of October) prone to downy and powdery mildews but it is resistant to grey rot, which is an advantage, given the humid climate of Japan in general and of the Katsunuma area in particular, located in the Yamanashi prefecture, in central Honshu. Koshu is planted on 550 ha in all of Japan and 90% of that surface is located in the Katsunuma prefecture with mainly volcanic soils. 80% of that surface is surrounded by mountains, Mont Fuji being the most well know of all. Since the country is so mountainous, arable land is rare and thus average size of the vineyards is relatively small by international standards and demands a high return.
As far as training methods are concerned, vines have traditionally been planted on pergola-style trellising but other training systems are currently under investigation like the Smart System and the Ridge System. In fact, until quite recently, the vines were trellised on overhead wire lattices to maximize the number of grape clusters produced by each plant. There has been a switch to training vines in long cordons to reduce yields and achieve more concentrated flavors.
An improving competitive position on the wine markets.
Most wineries do rely on bought in grapes or on their own grapes – or both. In the case where grapes are bought from a vine grower, the winery has to convince him or her to sell the grapes to make wine rather than to other clients who want them as table grapes. Every year in all of Japan (2012 data given by Grace Wine), 3.530 tons of grapes are processed to make wine (of which 2.550 tons are processed in Yamanashi prefecture) against 3.770 tons harvested for eating. The difficulty here is that table grapes generally command higher prices than wine grapes. In other words, clients looking for table grapes are ready to pay more for them than the wineries themselves, which is in part putting in jeopardy the future of the Yamanashi wine industry. Not to mention the fact that many of the vine growers are not in their younger age and that the next generation is not really motivated to take over.
Luckily, not all is bad news. There is a very active association in place to promote, improve the quality of the wines, increase the awareness of Koshu wines on global markets and develop new wine profiles: the Koshu of Japan association (KOJ). Founded in July 2.009 by fifteen producers of Koshu wines located in the Yamanashi prefecture, include other relevant partners such as the Koshu City Chamber of Commerce, the Kofu Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Yamanashi Prefecture Winemakers Association. Besides, the KOJ is accompanied and guided by a Master of Wine, Lynne Sherriff. And as far as promotion goes, the Association’s efforts have been backed up by the mention of the Yamanasi prefecture and the Koshu wines in one episode of the Japanese manga The Drops of God, sold by millions copies in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, France and the US.
To complete this overview, some French winemakers have been closely involved in the recent upheaval in quality terms: Bernard Magrez of Château Pape-Clément has contributed with Aruga winery to craft a noteworthy, single-vineyard vintage to be uncorked worldwide. In the sane vein, Denis Dubourdieu has been helping Asagiri Wine Company and Grace Wines as well. And Koshu wine has its own Riedel glass, selected as the ideal vessel to taste it in the best conditions.
The style of the wines.
Koshu, like some few other white grape varieties – chenin is one that naturally springs to mind, is a very versatile grape variety: it can be crafted in un-oaked or oaked versions, with an ageing on lees or without it and it can also be dry or sweet, still or sparkling.
Since it is a very pale and sometimes thin variety different techniques are used by producers to enhance the wine’s flavor and texture: aging on lees has been mentioned but also cryoextraction and skin contact might be used. Moreover, due to climatic conditions (described above), acidity might also be a problem as well as alcoholic degree (that is why chaptalization is often necessary). Total acidity can spread from 5,5 to almost 8 g/l and pH from 3 to 3,3. Wines tasted present a variable alcoholic degree, ranging from 10% abv to almost 13% abv. However, most of them are lower in alcohol than most whites at 11 to 12% abv.
Due to this particular profile, these wines pair very well with Japanese food in general (tempuras, sushis, sashimis and the like) – and Koshu could be the flagship wine that was missing. It is very close in spirit to the Japanese cuisine, where “Omotenashi” (a relationship between a host and a guest where the host anticipates the needs of the guest in advance and offers a pleasant service that guests don’t expect) is at the heart of what the best chefs are looking to achieve. The search for purity is also one main constituent of both Japanese cuisine and the best Koshu wines. As Jancis Robinson has superbly put it: “It’s not the sort of wine where you wait for it to leap out of the glass at you and give you a very strong message. Koshu is an intellectual wine – you have to concentrate on it a bit, like top-tier French wines”.
Tasting notes.
All the wines have been tasted either directly at the winery or in different restaurants and wine bars in Tokyo early July 2014.
- -Olifant Cadette. 12%. Olifant wines. Light yellow green color, with discrete citrus both in nose and palate completed by a discrete white pepper touch and some vegetal notes. Short in the mouth with a dominating acidity. *
- - Fujiclair 2013. 13%. Barrique. Fujiclair wines. Yellow green color of medium intensity with notes of vanilla, white pepper, yellow flowers, citrus (yellow lemon) and fine wood in the background. Also some green apple (granny smith) and buttery notes. Dry in the mouth, with good body and structure, a medium finish and an integrated alcohol. Balanced and interesting. ***
- -Arugano Bosque. Sur lies. 2013. Aruga. Almost water color, with the typical white pepper, white flower, citrus and vegetal notes of the variety. High acidity, offering a certain lack of balance, with a clear note of Granny Smith on the finish. **
- -Koshu on lees 2013. The wine has stayed six months on lees. Aromas are more upfront, with delicate white flower dominating, a vegetal note, some white pepper, citrus and apple / white pear. ***
- -Koshu on lees 2012. Aruga. It is the same wine as the preceding one with one more year of ageing. It shows an interesting evolution where all the elements are still more concentrated in a fine, elegant, balanced and enhanced result. Pepper and hay are more present, the green apple riper, the wine has more body, the acidity is more integrated and the flower aromas are the touch that makes the wine superior. *****
- -Katsunuma Koshu oak barrel 2012. 12,5%. Aruga. This wine has been aged in wood for six months. As the koshu grape needs a very careful treatment when in contact with oak, 2nd and third year barrels are used. Color is more pronounced, in the yellow – green range. Vanilla, butter, ripe grapefruit, yellow flowers completed by white pepper and ripe green apple are the main aromatic characteristics of this wine. Acidity is also pronounced, with a medium body, medium alcohol and a pretty long finish. It leaves a creamy impression in the mouth. Finish is marked by a bitter nicely integrated note. ****
- -Katsunuma Koshu oak barrel 2011. 12,5%. Aruga. Same wine as before, with one more year ageing in bottle. Here coffee, toasted notes are at the forefront and the color is almost golden yellow. White pepper, ripe citrus and green apple completed by a hint of dry fruit are the main notes of the wine. *****
- -Katsunuma Koshu oak barrel 2010. 12,5%. Aruga. Back in time with a superb 2010. Golden bright color, with a medium intensity. Dry fruit, a touch of beeswax, white pepper, roasted apple, ripe tropical fruit are clearly detectable. Full bodied in the mouth, with a long finish, marked by the toasted aromas. A wine that proves the ability of the koshu wine to age gracefully. *****
- -Katsunuma Koshu oak barrel 2009. 12,5%. Aruga. One more year and the wine changes its profile, with this time oak being more present and an even more complex aromas. ****
- -Misaka 2011. 12%. Aged on lees and with new French oak. Here the oak clearly dominates, with white pepper, vanilla ad roasted aromas being at the forefront. Full bodied, with an integrated acidity. ***
- -Katsunuma Koshu 2012. 12,5%. Aruga. Yellow green color of medium intensity. Youthful nose of medium minus intensity with citrus, white pepper, granny smith apple, hay and white flowers. The palate is balanced, with a certain volume due to the use of lees and a medium finish. It shows an unquestionable elegance with a slightly bitter finish, which gives the wine an added dimension. ****
- -Aruga Branca Issehara 2013. 12,5%. Aruga. The wine comes from the Misaka plot, which has a very rocky soil. This is the wine made with Bernard Magrez of Bordeaux. Pale yellow color, with apple, melon, pineapple, passion fruit and citrus, with a mineral touch. Full bodied and persistent, with a mineral note in the palate. *****
- -Koshu Sparkling wine. Traditional method. The wine stays two years in bottle. No dosage. Green yellow color, with a medium bubble. Green apple, white pear, white pepper, fresh citrus with a creamy bubble. ****
- -Koshu sweet wine 2009. 12,5%. Aruga. For this wine, the must has been frozen four times and the water moved away. Golden color with complex aromas: bitter almond, dry fruit. The palate offers even new different aromas: ripe citrus (tangerine), white pepper, roasted apple, ripe orange peel, honey and kumquat. Medium bodied with a long finish. *****
- -Kayagataka 2013. 11,5%. Grace vineyards. This specific cuvee comes from the Kayagataka area, at 300 m of altitude, west of Katsunuma, where climate is fresher. Water color. Wine left on lees for 5 months. White pepper, apple, citrus, discrete hay. Medium bodied with a long finish and a persistent acidity. Slightly unbalanced. Finishes with a bitter note of citrus peel. **
- -Koshu Kastunuma 2013. 12%. Grace vineyards. Water color. More intense than the previous one, but with a more integrated acidity. It has stayed five months on lees. ***
- -Gris de Koshu 2012. 12%. Grace vineyards. Pale green yellow color, with a somehow not a totally clean nose. In the palate, the wine has a high acidity and offers an astringent somehow drying feeling with a bitter note (grapefruit peel). Medium plus finish and a medium body. **
- -Toriibira 2013. 12%. No oak. Grace vineyards. Clay soils. Water color. Hay, white apple, citrus, white pepper and some tropical fruit and white flowers. Acidity is quite high and requires integration. **
- -Private Reserve Toriibira 2012. 12,5%. With oak. Grace vineyards. Clay soils. Quite ripe in the nose, with some beeswax aromas. White pepper, yellow flowers. Not too fruity. High acidity also requiring integration and a long finish. Lees aging gives the wine a creamy feeling.
- -Akeno Koshu 2013. 12,5%. Grace vineyards. Very specific cuvee, coming from a plot with a soil of volcanic ashes and clay, receiving 2600 hours of sunshine per year. Gathers all the characteristics of a koshu wine plus a clear mineral touch. ***
- -Koshu 2012. 13%. Asaya winery. Bright yellow color. Green apple, white pepper completed by a hint of beeswax and a vegetal note (hay). High acidity, pretty well integrated, giving the wine a good structure, with a medium body and aromatic intensity. Long finish. Quite balanced. More evolved as the Aruga 2012 Katsunuma Koshu cuvee. ****