Yura
Alsace
Jintaro started his wine career in restaurants. After his stint in restaurants, he enrolled in Oenology school; he soon spent time training in various parts of the world such as Waipara, New Zealand, Burgundy, and Yamanashi in Japan. Finally, he was drawn to Alsace in 2012 where he worked with Domaine Josmeyer and Domaine Hurst. After spending time at these estates, he knew that is where he wanted to be. His career, like many of the other small young growers, started off with buying grapes from his friends and borrowing cellar space. Now, he makes only a few wines, but he makes them count.
Viticulture and Vinification
Yura's vision is to make a wine of purity and finesse - wine that is also beautifully balanced, umami, and food friendly. There are various parcels from which the grapes are sourced, all vinified separately. The cooler sites are fermented in stainless steel to keep the freshness and purity. All of the grapes are sourced from organic vineyards, and with such healthy fruit he adds only a small amount of sulfur during winemaking. The warmer sites are fermented in used barrels to highlight the texture and savory elements of the grapes. The grape bunches are pressed whole then sit overnight at a low temperature. The juice is moved to steel and 500L barrique for natural fermentation. The wine spends 10 months sur lie before being blended, then aged an additional two months after blending.
2020 was his first vintage, starting with a singular, beautiful example of Pinot varietals from Alsace. In 2021 he added a Riesling to the range, grown on limestone- the texture, length, and energy are reaching all new harmonies.
