We believe this wine will improve beautifully over the next 3 to 5 years, and even beyond. This wine offers notes of ripe persimmon and wood, with a touch of umami, generally homogeneous notes, but this wine is particularly well integrated.
The nose is authentic with honey-candied stone fruits such as apricot, leafy floral notes and hints of blood orange peel, with some tertiary notes of mushroom and toasted bread.
We love the superb balance on the palate. Soft but persistent, it offers beautiful energy and great concentration.
The finish is long, clean and persistent. The notes of new oak are still present, with hints of stone fruit infused with flora, such as apricot. On the palate, it is still young, with very smooth tannins and medium body.
Facing east, from sunrise onwards, the sun shines through the 1.5-hectare vineyard of Domaine Mont, in a privileged environment where the grapes are grown with good ventilation and drainage. Because the temperature rarely exceeds 30 degrees during the day and drops below 20 degrees at night, this gives the vineyard efficient photosynthesis and, as a result, moderate acidity in the wine that tends to linger and a sugar content that tends to increase.
The accumulated temperature in Yoichi is similar to that of northern Burgundy and Alsace. In the Domaine Mont vineyard, there is a special plot where Pinot Gris is planted on ungrafted vines. This means that they grow on their own roots, which is very rare. In Japanese, we call this “Ji Kon,” which is where the name of the wine, Dom Gris JK, comes from. It is believed that the harsh winters in Yoichi, Hokkaido, prevent phylloxera, a vine-destroying insect, from surviving, and so far no damage has been reported.
However, growing these ungrafted Pinot Gris vines is a real challenge. They have a wilder, more vigorous character and are particularly susceptible to coulure (poor fruit set) and millerandage (unevenly sized clusters). This often results in extremely low yields, but the quality of the grapes is exceptional. Despite the uncertain threat of phylloxera due to recent climate change, these vines have survived coulure and millerandage and are now full of vitality.
This is truly a rare and fortunate cuvée. Most years, the estate produces only one or two barrels, and some vintages are so unproductive that it is not possible to produce wine. This wine is fermented in whole bunches with wild yeasts. It is unfiltered, unfined, and unsulphured. It is then aged for 24 months in oak barrels from the Taransaud cooperage.
In 2023, Yoichi experienced a significant heatwave and many vineyards suffered extensive damage from birds during the harvest. At Domaine Mont, they were fortunate to escape significant damage from birds, but the vintage was still marked by very low yields. That said, the quality of the wine is remarkable. Even just after release, the aroma is expressive and the palate is already well balanced.
