KOSHU WINE PROJECT

NEWS AND REVIEWS

Wine Reviews

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• Review by Wine Sommolier Shinya Tasaki
• Review by Wine Authority Robert Parker

SHINYA TASAKI

World Wine Sommelier Champion

Koshu Cuvee Denis Dubourdieu 2006





A translucent pale-green color, Koshu Cuvee Denis Dubourdieu harmoniously balances the scents of white roses, citrus, grapefruit and green apple with hints of pear and white soil. The palate is soft, round and well-balanced, with a fresh tartness to the finish. The wine is great with calamari and octopus sashimi, scallop salad, and scallop carpaccio.

Shizen Zenkoji 2006





A glittering shade of lime-green, the Koshu Zenkoji 2006, has a delicious aroma of lychee, white peach, green banana and roses. The initial taste is soft and round with a crispy tart element to the body and a silky smooth finish. This wine is an excellent complement to clear clam soup, sea-bream noodles, marinated white fish, kelp and boiled pike eel.


Shizen Reserve 2006





A sparkly, green-amethyst color, the Koshu Reserve 2006 possesses a gorgeous aroma of pear, white peach, citrus, grapefruit and white rose. The wine is soft and smooth in the mouth, and the citrus aftertaste makes an ideal complement to dishes like tempura of kisu (sillago) or megochi (flat headed fish), white fish, calamari, shellfish sushi and asparagus salad

Koshu Rose 2006





Bright, festive, and raspberry pink, the Koshu Rose 2006 has a pleasant fruity smell, highlighted by elements of pink grapefruit with a touch of raspberry and red-currant. These aromas are balanced well by a subtle touch of spicy pink peppercorns and paprika. The dry taste is soft and well balanced. The pleasing finish is slightly tart with just a hint of spice in the aftertaste. The Rose is a perfect match for salty delicacies such as grilled prawn, hair crab, butter sauteed summer salmon and yakitori





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ROBERT PARKER

Wine Critic



The wine is still a very light, dry, low alcohol (10%) with no malolactic...reminds me of a cross between a Loire sauvignon and Muscadet....just crisp and pleasant and clearly meant to be a wine to guzzle with sushi/sashimi..... it is dry.....indigenous varietal with apparently some vinifera DNA...the low alcohol works nicely in this light-bodied wine....it is crisp and zesty...but not shrill.... ......but the wine is good and should please many of you looking for tank fermented ,non-malolactic,low alcohol dry whites....

From www.erobertparker.com

In December 2004, Robert M. Parker Jr. visited Japan and tasted the 2004 Koshu Cuvée Denis Dubourdieu and gave the wine 87/88 points.

"...Koshu had been cultivated in Japan since 1300, and DNA studies have shown the variety has vitis vinifera origins. Traditional Koshu has been made both sweet and bitter (like gewu¨rztraminer, it has tannin in the skins). Dubourdieu decided to minimize skin contact, block any malo-lactic, ferment at very low temperatures, and to total dryness, then age the wine only in stainless steel, but on its fine lees."

"The 2004, the debut vintage of this modern-styled Koshu, is very promising. Very aromatic, even exotic, the wine is very light-bodied, but has considerable personality, and no doubt flexibility with multiple types of cuisine."

"Could this be the first dry white wine from Japan to have an international marketplace? I think so. It comes closest to reminding me of a hypothetical blend of sauvignon and gewu¨rztraminer from Italy's Friuli region."

"If you lament the absence of good crisp dry lighter-styed wines at most sushi bars... perhaps the Japanese have finally found their great white hope."'

- Robert M. Parker Jr., December 2004

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