Domaine Koji et Jae Hwa Marsannay En Leautier 2023 750ml
Koji Nakada's domaine Marsannay comes from a single 0.43-hectare plot bought in December 2016 whose vines had already been farmed organically for eleven years before he arrived.
En Leautier is a lieu-dit in Marsannay, filed by the Japanese importer Nouvelles Sélections under the Côte de Nuits. Its sheet gives the plot as 0.43 ha, planted in 1983, bought by Koji Nakada and Jae Hwa Park in December 2016; the previous owner had moved to organic farming in 2005, and the parcel received Bureau Veritas certification in 2017. The wider estate, started in 2012 at Les Argillières near Prémeaux-Prissey, has been organic from the first vintage, converted to biodynamics in 2019 according to the importer, and ploughs part of its vineyards by horse. By 2024 it covered 6.5 ha in Burgundy and 1.3 ha in Champagne.
For 2023 the importer lists Pinot Noir at 100 percent and a yield of 30 hl/ha, with 30 percent of the fruit destemmed and the rest kept as whole bunches. Fermentation ran on indigenous yeast alone; the new-oak portion fermented in barrel, a house method Nakada carries out in upright casks with the head removed. The wine then spent 18 months in Chassin Grand Fin barrels, half new and half once-used, and went to bottle unfined and unfiltered. Greg Sherwood MW recorded 80 percent whole bunch on the 2022 domaine Marsannay, so the stem share is a lever Nakada adjusts year by year.
Jasper Morris describes 2023 as the hottest year on record in Burgundy, with Pinot Noir yields that broke records, a cool first half of August, a heatwave from 17 August and a choice in the Côte de Nuits between picking in the September heat or waiting for the storm of 12 September. He calls the reds a mixed picture. Against that backdrop, 30 hl/ha from 40-year-old vines is a restrained crop. Tokyo retailer Takamura, who met Nakada in 2025, reports that about 99 percent of his Danish exports go to restaurants.
In the glass
No published note on the 2023 exists yet. Greg Sherwood MW tasted the 2022 En Leautier Rouge (13 percent) in May 2025 and found violets, lilac, white flowers, black cherry and saline bramble fruit, with a crystalline, cool and steely palate he called sappy and mineral, scoring it 95/100. For the vintage as a whole, Morris finds few hot or alcoholic reds, though many carry a suggestion of sunshine in their riper aromatics.
When to open
No drinking window has been published for the 2023. Our suggestion: open from 2026 to about 2035, serve at 14 to 16 °C, and give it half an hour in a decanter.
At the table
Our suggestion: roast guinea fowl, duck breast with cherries, or salt-grilled yakitori rather than tare.
Quick facts
| Producer | Domaine Koji et Jae Hwa (Koji Nakada & Jae Hwa Park), Gevrey-Chambertin |
|---|---|
| Appellation | Marsannay AOP, lieu-dit "En Leautier" |
| Region | Côte de Nuits, Bourgogne, France |
| Grape | Pinot Noir 100% |
| Vintage | 2023 |
| Volume | 750 ml |
| Farming | Organic, Bureau Veritas certified 2017; estate biodynamic since 2019 |
| Élevage | 18 months, Chassin Grand Fin barrels, 50% new / 50% once-used; unfined, unfiltered |
Provenance
Sourced from the Japanese importer.
Sources: Nouvelles Sélections (Japanese importer); producer label; Takamura Plus; Greg Sherwood MW (gregsherwoodmw.com, May 2025); Jasper Morris MW (Inside Burgundy, 2023 vintage overview); 88 Bamboo; Winehog