Grace Cuvée Misawa Rouge 2017

Grace Winery (Chuo Budoshu) was founded in 1923 by Chotaro Misawa in Katsunuma, Yamanashi Prefecture — the birthplace of Japan's wine industry. The winery has a strong history of innovation, becoming one of the first in the country to introduce Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP) in 1990 to improve grape quality. It remains family-run today, led by winemaker Ayana Misawa, Chotaro's great-great-granddaughter, and is considered a benchmark for quality in Japanese winemaking — balancing traditional craftsmanship with progressive technique to express the unique terroir of the region.

Cuvée Misawa Rouge is a Bordeaux-variety blend grown on the Misawa Vineyard — Cabernet Sauvignon for backbone, Merlot for fruitiness, Cabernet Franc for elegance, and Petit Verdot for spice. The 2017 is 53% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Petit Verdot. Each variety is vinified separately in small batches by lot until just before bottling, and matured in French oak barrels for 15 months. Grapes are brought to the winery immediately after harvest for a two-stage sort and spontaneous fermentation, and the wine is bottled without fining or filtration. The exact blend composition shifts with each year's performance — in vintages where the weather doesn't cooperate, no wine is made at all.

The Wine Front — 95 points (20 January 2022)
"Blackcurrant pastille, blueberry, lead pencil, white flower and semi-dried tomato. Medium-bodied, quite savoury with that ripe tomato and nori character, but also pomegranate crispness, and raspberry. It's calm, composed, distinctly 'mineral', with gentle crushed rock tannin character, and sweet and sour black fruits on a long fresh finish. So distinctive and fine. Beautiful and different."
Read the full review at The Wine Front