Coco Farm & Winery Coco Farm & Winery Pinot Noir Coco & 10R Series Kimura Vineyard, Japan, Hokkaido

Great light Pinot, strawberry and elegance!

Tondonia Gran Reservas at Big Wine Freaks : Thought trendy new-school Burgundy or Jura this time round but similar impressions to the previous time I had this. Fresh, juicy and quaffable, makes a versatile pairing with any food.

Tondonia Gran Reserva (Big Wine Freaks) : Super candied nose which led us to Japan. Strawberry bubblegum, bright cherry, hint of herbs. Juicy. First time having the Coco Farm pinot noir, and my favourite so far from this winery.

Floral and pretty with a good bit of VA. I think light extraction turned this potential monster into a featherweight because this was harvested in early Nov at 25.5 Brix, which is insane for these parts. Despite the healthy 14.1% ABV here you won't feel it, probably because of how juicy and soft it is. Improved a little later in the evening after some of the VA went away. Strangely enough I brought this to a BYO and had reactions …

Friday late night at home with neighbourhood friends. Drank in Grassl Cru. Appearance is clear, very pale intensity, ruby colour. Legs. Nose medium+ intensity, with aromas of delicate flower petal just about to wilt, strawberry, hint of dirty earth funk. Developing. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium alcohol (14% but realy doesn't feel like it), low tannins, medium- body. Medium flavour intensity, with flavours of strawberries, red cherries, wilting flower petal, savoury earthiness. Some spicy bitternes to the medium+ …

Good Pinots (including champagnes) : Some disagreement over if this was a Burg but my hypothesis is that if my gut doesn’t have a village in mind then it has to be a new-world. And so it proved to be the case here, but went for NZ as it reminded me of a Rippon. Gently extracted red fruit and low alcohol, no structure and tannins but so gulpable.

(Dinner w the old AC-CF folks) Turkish delight, bright sour cherry, clean juicy nose, savoury! Ripe raspberry ripple. Funky tight acidity, grapefruit pith, bayberry. Savoury lingonberry. Hint citrus. Clean and juicy.

PNP into Kimura Piccolo glass ("Flower" day): Pale bright ruby to the eyes. This is the 3rd time I tasted this wine within the last 3 months, and it remains consistently impressive... Red cherries in the most organic manner. Dried florals, meaty, forest floor nuances that is unique. Such a fine streak of acidity and minerality here even this is the 4th bottle of the night... Lip-smacking indeed. Highly distinctive style here. 94 points easy.

PNP into tasting glass ("Root" day): Pale ruby to the eyes. Alluring nose of organic red cherries with meaty, stemmy notes. With time, darker red fruits and a dried herbal notes that sets this apart. Bright acidity that is almost a little balsamic-like (though much less so than the darker profile of 2018), light-footed, with high minerality and a unique umami (Japanese 'dashi') flavor on the finish. Highly enjoyable with food. Largely consistent notes with the previous tasting. 94 points.

4,086 bottles produced. ABV 14.1% with a TA of 7.2 g/L and 1.7 g/L residual sugar. Pinot Noir from Kimura Vineyard in Nobori, Yoichi harvested by hand from 3 to 10 Nov 2019, averaging 25.5°Brix. 95% hand destemmed, 5% whole clusters with a 3-week fermentation with wild yeasts. This is then matured for 16 months in old oak barrels and bottled unfiltered on 26 July 2021. PNP into C&S Tasting glass (“Fruit” day): Pale ruby to the eyes. Dried florals …