Grace Cuvée Misawa Rouge 2020

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 — Merlot for fruitiness, Petit Verdot for spice, and Cabernet Franc for elegance. 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.

2020 saw a warm winter give way to a good spring, with strong flowering and fruit set. A long, sunless rainy season slowed ripening, but careful pest control and rain-shade protection kept damage minor, and fine weather after the rains helped the grapes recover lost ground. September rains and Typhoon No. 14 in October kept the team on alert through the back half of harvest, but diligent management — including removing infected berries — meant only healthy fruit made it into the wine.

The Wine Front — 95 points (28 October 2023)
"So distinctive, so fine. Plum and dark raspberry, cedar and pencils, chocolate, perfume of violets, mint and nori, with a pimento spiciness. It's medium-bodied, distinctly saline and savoury, an umami sort of wakame character runs through it, but also a delicate blood plum and blueberry flavour. Tannin is fine and lacy, acidity has a sappy fresh tomato character, but the flavours are ripe nonetheless. The finish is bright and long, but earthy, and all up the charm and individual personality on offer is so appealing. So different, but so good."
Read the full review at The Wine Front