domaine tetta
Niimi, Okayama

Grapes: Chardonnay
Type: White
Style: Dry, full-bodied
Colour: Medium gold
Alcohol: 13%
Wild yeast: Yes
Any added sulphites: 15 ppm 
Filtered: Yes (coarse filter)
Serving temperature: 10-13°C
Production: 2,954 bottles
Please store in a cool, dark place.

Tasting notes
Red apple, yellow peach, acacia honey and confiture. Sweet aroma of ripe fruits. Also a hint of strawberry flavoured yoghurt aroma can be found. Dry but subtle sweetness. Intense flavour such as whisky being balanced by good acidity and minerality. Long finish with rich fruity flavour. Intense and powerful on the first day of opening, milder after a few days. Enjoy the difference.

Food pairing
Garlic lemon butter chicken, Intense & salty mountain cheese, roasted sardine with tomato sauce, Sushi with fatty or meaty seafood such as salmon and scallops, stir-fried pork belly and vegetables with Chinese black bean sauce

Winemaking
A new vintage of Chardonnay Barrique, a very popular white wine among the wines we imported in 2022. Made from 8-11 year-old Chardonnay vines planted on south-west-facing slopes on limestone karst plateaus at 430 metres altitude. Harvested from the second half of October to early November. Fermented in stainless steel tanks without destemming or crushing, then matured in French oak barrels for nine months. Small amount of sulphites was added at bottling and released after 3 months. The palate is fuller and richer, thanks to the later picking than in Chardonnay Barrique 2019 whose grapes were harvested one month earlier. Try to taste the differences with the back vintages.

From the 2021 vintage it has been renamed Chardonnay d'or. ‘d'or’ means 'golden' in French. Mr Yoshiya Kanno, the current head of viticulture and winemaking at the winery, was taught by his mentor that the best time to harvest Chardonnay is when it has turned golden. In order for it to turn golden, the harvest needs to be delayed, but this was possible because their terroir is 430 metres above sea level and the temperature difference between day and night makes it possible to harvest late and still maintain the acidity