ZoomYama No Petillant2023
Coco Farm & Wineryココ・ファーム・ワイナリー
Ashikaga, Tochigi, Japan
About this wine
Yama no Petillant is Coco Farm's hillside pet-nat, built around Petit Manseng (94%) with a touch of Chardonnay (6%). Petit Manseng is unusual in Japan, prized here for its naturally high acidity and ability to handle Tochigi's wet harvest season. The wine is finished as an ancestral-method sparkling, bottled before fermentation completes so that the residual CO2 carries through to the glass; the result is gentle effervescence rather than full mousse. Wild-yeast fermentation, 100% Japan-grown grapes, no herbicides or chemical fertilizers in the vineyards. The estate's Jurassic-bedrock slopes (clastic rocks, chert and basalt under shallow loam, vineyards at 50 to 200 metres) sit at average inclines of 38 degrees and require all hand-work. A bright, stone-fruit-toned bottle for sommeliers wanting Japanese pet-nat with proper backbone.
Winemaking
Grapes from "Kamino Vineyard" in Yamagata. Whole-bunch pressed at low temperature, then lightly settled before fermenting with native yeasts—first in tank, then in oak. Fermentation paused over winter and resumed in spring. Bottled under crown cap at 18g/L of residual sugar.