domaine tetta
Niimi, Okayama

Grapes: Chardonnay 95%, 5% consists of Chenin Blanc, Koshu, Sémillon, Auxerrois and Pinot Blanc
Type: Orange
Style: Dry, medium-bodied
Colour: Pale amber
Alcohol: 12%
Wild yeast: Yes
Any added sulphites: 15 ppm 
Filtered: Yes (coarse filter)
Serving temperature: 13-16°C
Production: 1,749 bottles
Please store in a cool, dark place.

Tasting notes
Complex aroma of ripe lemon, ripe apple, white flower, amaretto, bread dough and gin with botanical aroma. Intense and well-structured with acidity and minerality. Medium finish with complex fruity flavour and a hint of caramel. Decanting may be a good option. It has a good potential of ageing.

Food pairing
Grilled eggplant with sweet miso paste, Japanese omelette with dashi stock, Sushi, baba ganoush, fried ginkgo nuts with salt, grilled eel with sweetened soy sauce, fried thick deep‐fried tofu and vegetable in oyster sauce, grilled white fish marinated in miso.

Winemaking
Harvested from early to mid-October from 4-12 year-old Chardonnay vines planted on south-west-facing slopes on a limestone karst plateau at 400 metres altitude. The other five varieties, grown on trial in the same vineyard, were also harvested at the same time and vinified together. After destemming, the grapes were soaked in stainless steel tanks on the skins without crushing and macerated for 25 days. During this time, punched down three times a day every eight hours. After a slow and careful pressing with basket press, the wine was matured in French oak barrels for nine and half months before bottling. Released after approximately five months.

Until the 2020 vintage it was made as 'Chardonnay Macéré', but from the 2021 vintage it has been changed to 'Chardonnay Origine'. ‘Origine' means ‘beginning, origin’ in French. They started making macerated Chardonnay from 2018. The name was changed to reflect the history of winemaking, where even white grapes were soaked with the skins, and the great respect for the ancestors who made them.