Japan Wine Tasting: Coco Farm Winery-“Iwao Furugawa” White (conducted at la Sommeliere in Shizuoka City)

My good friend, Mrs. Hiromi Hasegawa/長谷川浩美さん, owner of La Sommeliere, a fine wine and sake shop doubling as a bar and small restaurant has been a lot of efforts recently to discover fine wines made in japan!

She has just introduced superlative wines from a Winery gathering a lot of praise in Tochigi Prefecture named Coco Farm Winery!

This particular white wine produced in 2014 has a been given a special name “Une Soirée de Violon”/”A Violin Evening” because the great classicl/jazz violonist, Mr. Iwao Furugawa, who has also given his name to this brew, plays a concert at the Winery every year in the Festival held every December to celebrate the latest harvest!

it is somewhat complicated wine to explain!

Grapes: Chardonnay (50%), Müller-Thurgau 16%), Bacchus (15%), Koshu (9%), other grapes (10%)
The Chardonnay grapes were harvested in Kamiyama/上山 in Yamagata Prefecture and in Takayama Mura/高山村 in Nagano Prefecture on the 24th, 27th of September and 2nd of October in 2014). The Müller-Thurgau (on the 24th and 29th of September 2014) and Bacchus grapes (on the 24th of September 2014) were harvested in Yoichi City/余市 in Hokkaido . The Koshu grapes were harvested in Katsunuma/勝沼 in Yamanashi Prefecture on the 18th and 24th of September 2014.
All grapes were gently pressed before the juices were stored in stainless vats.They were to ferment at 18 degrees to maximize the aroma of the grapes.They were left a comparatively short time to ferment before being filtered and bottled.
Bottlng was conducted on 10th, 11th and 12th of March 2015 into 17,436 bottles of 750 ml and 9,161 bottles of 375 ml.
Alcohol: 11.9%
Acidity: 0.531 g/100 ml
Residual sugars: 0.605%

Clarity: very clear
Color: light golden
Aroma: Very complex, dry and fruity: muscat, dry raisins, apricot, faint pineapple, notes of green apples and bananas
Body: fluid and very easy to drink
Taste: almost completely beside the aroma.
Dry and fruity attack backed up by faint and pleasant petillant.
Agreeably lingers on the palate to reveal all kinds of facets: cider-like acid apples, flowers of all kinds.

Overall: very intriguing wine for Japanese winery which concentrates on the choice and blending of grapes to leave the producing to farmers all over Japan.
Very reminiscent of a superior Alsace wine, especially Riesling.
Definitely of a superior level in Japan despite its young age which hold promises for the future!
Best enjoyed at room temperature , even for a white wine.

Suggested pairings: cream gratin, vegetable pasta, asparagus, chicken dishes.
Would be particularly welcome with sandwiches at lunch on a hot day!

A discovery!

LA SOMMELIERE

420-0857 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Miyuki Cho, 7-5, Aiseido Bldg, 1F
Tel. & Fax: 054-266-5085
Opening hours: 11:00~22:00, 12:00~18:00 on Sundays & National Holidays
FACEBOOK (Japanese)
Entirely non-smoking!

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