Global wine magnate Bernard Magrez will release the first wine from his joint venture with a Japanese winery.
The owner of Château Pape-Clément, who has 35 estates on four continents, is to sell Magrez-Aruga Koshu Isehara 2007 in markets including the US, France, Belgium and Switzerland, according to reports in Japan.
The wine, made from the indigenous Koshu grape, is produced in partnership with Katsunuma Winery president Yuji Aruga.
A champion of Koshu, Aruga makes a range of white wine styles with grapes grown in the Kofu basin, the historic centre of Japanese wine production.
Production of Magrez-Aruga will vary by vintage, with about 2,400 bottles available from 2007. Early reports suggest the wine has flavours of peach and grapefruit, and is being touted as a good match for a range of Japanese dishes.
Magrez has also acquired a three hectare vineyard in the Collioure appellation at the foot of the Pyrenees, and will release the 2007 vintage of L’excellence de mon terroir de Collioure this year.
The vineyards share the same territory as the Banyuls Vins Doux Naturels.
Written by Richard Woodard
