NIPPON NATURALS
日本ナチュラルズ
Grapes: Petit Manseng 100%
Type: White Still
Style: Full-bodied, off-dry to dry
Color: Bright gold
Alcohol: ~13%
Wild yeast: Yes (including wild malolactic fermentation)
Any added sulphites: Minimal
Filtered: No (unfined, unfiltered)
Serving temperature: 10-12°C
Please store in a cool, dark place.
Tasting notes
Named for the chorus of skilled growers whose grapes come together in this wine, Yama no Kantata (“Mountain Cantata”) shows a bright, gleaming gold color. Aromas of honey, tarte tatin, and calvados-like toastiness meet ripe apricot fruit and a seaweed-like mineral edge. On the palate, rich, ripe fruit is balanced by lively, persistent acidity that carries into a long finish.
Food pairing
Roasted or grilled poultry, dishes with cream or butter sauces, semi-hard cheeses, and richer seafood preparations that can match the wine’s fuller body and toasty, honeyed notes.
Winemaking
Petit Manseng was first planted at Coco Farm’s own Ashikaga vineyard in 2006, brought over from the foothills of the Pyrenees in southwest France. Encouraged by how well it suited the local climate, the winery gradually convinced trusted contract growers to plant it as well — first at the Ogata family’s vineyard in Kaminoyama, Yamagata, in 2008, and later at the Sato family’s vineyard in Takayama-mura, Nagano, in 2017. For Yama no Kantata, fully ripened grapes from these mountain vineyards are brought to Coco Farm’s hillside winery in Ashikaga, gently whole-cluster pressed, and fermented with wild yeast below 22°C to preserve aroma, including a wild malolactic fermentation. The wine is aged for roughly six months — about 45% in oak barrels and 55% in stainless steel tanks — before racking, blending, and bottling without fining or filtration.
Producer
