Château Mercian 2018 Iwasaki Koshu Dry White Wine from Japan

Japanese wine from grapes is almost unheard of in the UK,  although a good number of people would have heard of Sake made from rice. I used to travel a lot with my work and went to Japan in the late 1980's to do IT projects. I must say that I was not too impressed with their wine then and I had little taste for Sake rice wine. I used to drink French wine when I could find it and I had to pay a small fortune for the privilege. Luckily , I was on an expense account. Even so, I stuck to beer most of the time. Several cold beers were needed to counteract the heat of the genuine Wasabi sauce dished up with  the Tempura. The Tempura served in top bars in Tokyo is outrageously expensive but the batter is light and tastes incredibly good and the sea food and vegetables are absolutely fresh. It is difficult to find genuine Wasabi in western restaurants who usually make the sauce from horseradish rather than the Wasabi root.   Genuine Wasabi tastes more herbal than the horseradish variety and it is not as hot but still almost too hot for me.

We found this wine in the Mount vineyard in Shoreham, of all places, near the Kent town of Sevenoaks in the UK.

We drank it recently with some friends before the latest lockdown on a sunny day in the garden.  A couple of our friends were from Brazil and during the conversation the subject of Japan came up. I had a plan to ask my friends where the wine came from and gave them three guesses and some heavy clues that it was from Asia. They were a bit flummoxed and surprised that wine from grapes came from Japan and surprised at the good quality. I had to show them the bottle to prove I wasn't joking.

The three women in the group, including my wife, were more impressed than the two men , including me.

I felt that the wine had strong flavours of tropical fruits and was well balanced for acidity and residual sugar it was concentrated and complex but did not last long on the palate. We drank the wine with shellfish. You could drink this wine on its own but really it should be drunk with food. However, hot sauces would overpower the subtle taste of the wine and I would not recommend it with genuine or false Wasabi - stick to cold beer or mineral water.

The wine is made from the Japanese Koshu grape variety and it is estate produced in the Yamanashi Prefecture on the base of Mount Fuji. The soil here is a mixture of gravel and clay. The climate and weather are perfect for growing wine grapes.

The Mount Fuji location is wonderful and it is a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. If you have several thousand dollars nestling in your back pocket then Japan is really worth visiting, not just for the wine but for the culture and the wonderful cuisine.Château Mercian 2018 Iwasaki Koshu Dry White Wine from Japan is not cheap in the UK at over £20 a bottle - less per bottle for a case- but it is really worth trying even if it does not compete on a cost and quality basis with a bottle of Chablis. However, I thoroughly recommend it and it proves that Japanese wine is steadily improving and will become competitive with the best wines of Europe and the New World.

https://chateaumercian.com/en/our-wines/index.html

https://www.kwoff.co.uk/products/chateau-mercian-iwasaki-koshu-yamanashi-12-bottle-case?variant=32449530331229&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=CjwKCAjw5p_8BRBUEiwAPpJO61hhP4XZiT_Huul5Xn7fer4Twc6DRN-OA8vxGWiQWH1cVWXgPeYjFBoCNKcQAvD_BwE

Vino seal glass stopper

 After visiting a restaurant where they served the wine sealed with a glass stopper, I thought what a good idea it was . These stoppers have been around for several years but this was the first time I had noticed it. maybe it's because I mainly drink French wines: French wine producers tend to use artificial corks when they do not use classical cork seals.

The other night I opened a rather nice Macedonian red wine to drink over a really good meal cooked by my wife. The bottle was sealed with a screw cap.  I may be old fashioned but the act of using a corkscrew adds to the romance of opening a bottle of wine even in the house when we haven't  got guests.

The glass stopper is something different and I can't wait to find a bottle that I can open myself.

The glass stopper helps to prevent wines being contaminated with cork taint. The stopper also reduces the oxygen absorbed by the wine so theoretically a good wine can be stored longer. Some producers are happy for oxygen to very slowly penetrate the wine to assist the ageing process. All this is very controversial. I doubt , however, that top producers will all convert to wine bottles sealed with screw caps, plastic or glass seals. As I said, there is something romantic about pulling a natural cork before serving.

Natural corks also promote the sustainable growth of oak trees which is in their favour.

One advantage of plastic, screw cap and glass seals is that you can store your wine bottles upright, but of course you still need to store wine in a cool dark place that is free from vibrations.

Some commentators have noted that bottles sealed with glass and  kept on their side might leak. This would mean that the seal has been broken and too much oxygen has penetrated the wine.

All in all I am in favour of innovation when it comes to the seal on a bottle as long as, occasionally, I can still pull a natural cork when the circumstances are right.