Grace Wines

 Last year I reported in detail on the line-up of perhaps the finest Japanese winery, Grace Wines. The tasting this year was a bit more limited, and in some ways, certainly with white wines, is a bit more of the same.

Koshu is the indigenous white wine variety of Japan. These wines are characterized by their transparent colour, citrus flavour, some fruitiness, but also quite a lean mouthfeel, perfect to accompany Sushi. The first wine I tasted was the 2022 Gris de Koshu. This is the entry level wine, if you will. It is crispy, showing citrus fruit, and some residual sugar (88 points). This was followed by the 2022 Kayagatake Koshu, equivalent to a village wine. This wine is quite an improvement on the 2021 tasted last year. The citrus flavours are dry and quite mineral. I really liked this wine (92 points). Then we come to the Grace Koshu wines, the blended Estate wines. The 2022 was paired up with wines from 2012 and 2013. The 2013 Grace Koshu is still pale in colour, with a slightly fuller mouthfeel than the current version, but still fresh. This is a more complete and satisfying version than the current vintage (94 points). The 2012 Grace Koshu is more developed. Some nutty flavours emerge, similar to a matured Hunter Valley Semillon (93 points).

The single vineyard wines are the 2022 Hishiyama Vineyard Koshu. This vineyard is situated at an altitude of 550m, whereas the previous wines  come from vineyards of 300-400m altitude. This translates into more fruit concentration, while still retaining quite a delicate mouthfeel (94 points). I then tasted two 2021 Toriibira Vineyard Koshu wines. I reported on these priviously. The Reserve wine is the only Koshu which sees some barrel fermentation.

The red wines were again quite interesting. The 2021 Yamanashi Rouge is based on the Japanese grape Muscat Bailey. This wine is a big improvement on the previous year. It s a light wine of predominantly raspberry flavour with excellent length. It would give some Beaujolais a run for its money (92 points). The 2013 Kayagatake Red showed a similar profile with still excellent freshness (93 points).  

I finished up with the 2020 Akeno Rouge. This is a blend dominated by Merlot, and including Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc. Bordeaux varieties do not ripen easily in this area, with Merlot being the best. The wine has pleasant depth, with a focus on elegance (92 points).

If you like delicate and elegant wines, Grace Wines are for you.