ZoomAki Queen2023
Domaine TettaNiimi, Okayama, Japan
Aki Queen is a table grape variety bred in the Aki district of Hiroshima Prefecture.
About this wine
Domaine Tetta farms 6.5 hectares of vines on a limestone karst plateau at 400 to 600 meters in Niimi, Okayama. Its owner, Ryuta Takahashi, began reclaiming the land from abandoned farming in 2009, with the explicit goal of regenerating it through wine. The estate itself was completed in 2016. Aki Queen is a Japanese black-grape hybrid (a parent variety of Muscat Bailey A) that suits the Niimi limestone and altitude. The 2023 release is a rosé built around 85% Aki Queen and 7% Muscat Bailey A, vinified with native yeasts and aged in former limestone mining tunnels held year-round at 12 to 15°C and 80% humidity. 12% alcohol, no added sugar, no added acid. A distinctive rosé from one of Japan's most terroir-driven projects.
Tasting Notes
A pale rosé with a slight orange tinge. The nose is sweet-tart and expressive, with aromas of acerola, pomegranate, raspberry, passion fruit, and fresh strawberry jam. The palate is dry, with no perceptible sweetness — a striking contrast to the nose. A pleasing balance of bright acidity and bitterness carries through into a remarkably long finish on both nose and palate.
Vinification
The wine is made from a blend of Aki Queen, Muscat Bailey A, and other varieties, each fermented separately with wild yeast before being blended in tank. Whole-bunch, uncrushed grapes underwent three months of carbonic maceration, with both fermentation and aging taking place in stainless steel; the wine is aged for approximately two months before bottling. The wine is moved by gravity flow throughout the process. No fining is used, and it is only lightly filtered through a coarse filter to preserve its character.
Vineyard & Farming
Grapes are grown on Domaine Tetta's 6.5-hectare vineyard, sited on a southwest-facing slope at 400 meters elevation. The soil is clay-rich and iron-bearing, derived from 300-million-year-old limestone bedrock, and valley winds naturally reduce disease pressure. No herbicides or chemical fertilizers are used, with spraying kept to the necessary minimum.
From the Winery
Starting with the 2020 vintage, we began growing Aki Queen in earnest as a wine grape. We've worked to understand its character, experimenting with a range of winemaking approaches. For 2023, we shifted to a simpler approach, achieving balance through blending (assemblage). Simplicity brings its own difficulty, requiring far more experience, but we feel we've taken another step forward.