Grace Akeno Rouge 2021
$146.00 inc. GST
AROMA: Cherry, blackcurrant, pencil and cedar oak, tobacco, quite some perfume
PALATE: Plush ripe black fruit, raspberry, ripe strawberry, bright ripe tomato acidity, fine pumice stone tannin, with a fresh finish of excellent length
FOOD MATCH: BBQ Sirloin on the bone, truffle butter
Grape Variety: Merlot (59%), Cabernet Sauvignon (30%), Cabernet Franc (9%) and Petit Verdot (2%),
Drinking window: 2025-2035+
Alc. 12, 50%
36 in stock
Description
Grace Winery (Chuo Budoshu) was founded in 1923 by Chotaro Misawa in Katsunuma, Yamanashi Prefecture, the birthplace of Japan’s wine industry. The winery has a history of innovation, being one of the first to introduce modern techniques like Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP) in 1990 to enhance grape quality. Today, the winery is run by the Misawa family, with the current winemaker being Chotaro’s great-great-granddaughter, Ayana Misawa. The winery is committed to the philosophy that great wine comes from high-quality grapes grown in exceptional vineyards. They focus on traditional Japanese craftsmanship while also implementing progressive, modern techniques to enhance quality and reflect the unique terroir of the Katsunuma region. Grace Winery is considered a benchmark for quality in the Japanese winemaking community.
Misawa Vineyard, Akeno. This new wine is “Akeno”, the name reflects our cherishment of its origin. It is a blend of three varieties from a single vineyard, or a “wine with a view” of where it is from. After rigorous selection in the vineyard and the winery, small lots were selected and vinified separately with scrupulous attention to details as well as gentle extraction. Each variety or lot was matured in French oak barrels and bottled without clarification or filtration.
Additional Information
| brand | Grace Wine |
|---|---|
| size | 750ml |
| vintage | 2021 |
reviews/Awards/Rating
THE WINEFRONT
Grace Akeno Rouge 2021 – 94 / 100 Points
I’m just saying that there’s a lot of interesting wine that comes through the door, for sure, but how many other websites cover stuff like Japanese Bordeaux blends? Anyway, the bottle I tasted late last year seemed atypical for this producer, so I let it go though to the keeper. Now I’ve just been delivered a fresh bottle, and it’s so much better. As an aside, I gave Adam Liaw one of my bottles of the 2019 Akeno, when he came round to my house to record some of my waffle for one of his podcasts. I never asked if he liked it. I hope he did. Importer: QED
Cherry, blackcurrant, pencil and cedar oak, tobacco, quite some perfume, with a seaweed and fern thing happening too. It’s medium-bodied, again the pencil/graphite character, plush ripe black fruit, raspberry, ripe strawberry, bright ripe tomato acidity, fine pumice stone tannin, with a fresh finish of excellent length. There’s a little vanilla nougat oak in the mix, but it sits well within the wine. Lovely wine.
– Gary Walsh (Feb 2025).
