To understand the spirit of Domaine Kuheiji, you must transport yourself to another land of tradition – Japan – and meet Mr Kuno, a Burgundy enthusiast and owner of the Kuheiji sake brewery. The 15th generation from a family of brewers; sake runs in his veins. Through selling wine in upscale Parisian restaurants 20 years ago, Mr Kuno understood that wine was a universal language. He realised above all, however, that wine shared many points in common with sake, from the importance of terroir to the production method.
Hirotaka Ito had been invited to cross this bridge between the two cultures back in 2013. He trained in sake brewing for more than 15 years under the management of Mr Kuno and developed a similar passion for Burgundy wines. This mutual interest created a desire in them to go even further; Hirotaka Ito therefore moved to Burgundy, trained in winemaking and, in 2016, started to work in the field of wine.
A year later, the opportunity to buy some vines arose… and so Domaine Kuheiji was born.
A new adventure thus began for Hirotaka Ito; he acquired 2.5 hectares of vineyards to look after and, above all, understand. Although the appellations of the wines are modest in name, their potential is extraordinary. Located opposite the villages of Morey-Saint-Denis and Chambolle-Musigny, the plots mostly consist of old vines; the guarantee of a fine, concentrated wine for those who know how to take care of them.
Hirotaka Ito’s Japanese roots proved to be a strength. Deeply rooted in nature by tradition, they helped him to decide on the course of action for the vineyard; tending and pruning the vines to ensure low yields, as well as laying the groundwork for a conversion to organic production, paying particular attention to the soil and vines.
With each vintage, the growing relationship with nature is illustrated through the grapes collected, whether they are grown by the Domaine or supplied by partner producers. They perfectly reflect a vision inherited from the sake that the Domaine has chosen to focus on: the wine must maintain the memory of the land and transcribe it as faithfully as possible, without the desire to rewrite or embellish it. Human intervention is reduced to a minimum to allow the terroir to freely express itself. The Domaine’s team only focuses on managing factors essential to the quality of the wines, such as controlling the temperature and the fermentation of red wines. This is a collaborative strategy where everyone has full confidence in the universal goal. Ageing completes this goal with work carried out on the barrels. The use of new, medium-toasted barrels – up to 80% depending on the appellations produced – gives the wine structure, as well as length and balance.
