COCO FARM & WINERY
Ashikaga, Tochigi
Grapes: Petit Manseng 91% (from Yamagata and Nagano), Chardonnay 9% (from Yamagata)
Type: White
Style: Dry, medium-bodied
Colour: Deep gold
Alcohol: 13%
Wild yeast: Yes
Any added sulphites: 27 ppm
Filtered: No
Serving temperature: 7-10°C
Production: 2,079 bottles
Please store in a cool, dark place.
Tasting notes
Complex aromas of ripe apple, pineapple, Hassaku orange, honey and pastry dough. On the palate the sweetness of ripe fruits is balanced with an extended acidity that tightens the wine, with a slight savouriness and astringency in the aftertaste.
Food pairing
Pumpkin and cream cheese dip, stir-fried bean sprouts with fish sauce, eggs benedict, sea bream croustillant, chicken sauté with pernod sauce, baked cod and scallops in pie crust, thickly sliced deep-fried tofu, bamboo shoots simmered in bonito flakes and soy sauce, lamb and coriander dumpling.
Winemaking
The new vintage of Cantata di Montagna 2019, imported in 2023 and popular for its fresh acidity, concentrated fruit and complex flavour, has arrived. For the 2020 vintage, the well ripened grapes were transported to the winery in Ashikaga, where the grapes were gently pressed with whole bunches, placed in tanks. The grapes were then fermented with wild yeasts at temperatures below 20°C for approximately two weeks to preserve the aroma of the grapes. The wine was matured 65% in wooden barrels and 35% in stainless steel tanks. After racking, the wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered.
This wine is associated with 'mountain' (‘Yama’ in Japanese), with grapes from skilled contract growers in Kaminoyama, Yamagata Prefecture and Takayama, Nagano Prefecture, vinified at the winery in the mountains of Ashikaga. Petit Manseng has been grown in Mr Ogata's vineyard in Kaminoyama since 2008 and in Mr Sato's vineyard in Takayama since 2017. Since then, the variety has been carefully nurtured by the frontier spirits of the growers, and has taken root in terroir ideal for wine grapes, with a firm temperature difference between day and night. Special thanks to the contract growers who took the risk and took on the challenge of cultivating the variety.
