When I first visited Japan thirty years ago, Japanese wine was nothing to write home about and most of the wine people drank back then was French. How different the Japanese wine landscape is nowadays – there are over 300 wineries across the country, the majority in Yamanashi, Hokkaido, Nagano and Yamagata prefectures.
And in recent years, the quality of Japanese wine has improved enormously – at the 2021 Decanter World Wine Awards, Japanese wines were awarded a total of 71 medals, an increase of 61% over 2020, and including two Platinum and four Gold medals.
The most common grape variety used for white wine in Japan is Koshu. Indigenous to Japan, the grape is a hybrid of the European Vitis vinifera and the Asian Vitis davidii, and its thick skin makes it well-suited to the country’s hot, humid summers. Most of the Koshu wines are produced in Yamanashi, just to the west of Tokyo and the home of Mt Fuji. The wines are subtle and delicate, with citrus aromas and fresh, fruity flavours.
This Château Mercian, Koshu, Iwasaki 2019 wine is produced by Japan’s longest established winery, which can trace its roots back to 1870. It is a smooth, medium-bodied wine with refreshing acidity, a creamy mouthfeel and a lengthy finish. With floral notes and aromas of lemon, yuzu and vanilla on the nose, and flavours of citrus fruit, peach and almonds on the palate, it is an elegant wine that expresses the unique characteristics of the Koshu grape very well.
It’s a perfect match for sushi and sashimi, and other light Japanese dishes.
Available from Frazier’s Wine Merchants (£21.99)