Irenka Pinot Noir 2021 750ml

In 2021 Hokkaido had almost no rain from early July to early August, then September rain split the swollen berries, and Irenka threw away more than a third of its crop to save the rest.

Irenka is the Ainu word for an ideal, or a hope, and the name of a single vineyard that Kuniyo Nagai's company began planting in 2012 on 1.3 hectares of fallow land in Kamihoro, Kurisawa, a district of rolling hills in Iwamizawa at 43 degrees north. About 4,000 Pinot Noir vines, mostly eight Dijon clones, grow across 0.8 planted hectares on a gentle south-facing slope; in 2021 they were 8 to 11 years old. The soil is largely clay and slightly acidic, kept under grass, and farming follows lutte raisonnée, with no chemical fertiliser and no herbicide.

Winter brought far more snow than usual, but it melted early and pruning began in early April. Flowering was even and fruit set was the best Irenka had seen. Summer was the hottest in years, with day after day above 30°C, and the older vines, now deeply rooted, shrugged off the drought. Then the autumn rains returned. After weeks of dry weather the berries drank too fast, their skins cracked and grey rot followed. From a month before harvest until the last day, the team kept cutting out damaged fruit. Picking started about two weeks earlier than in past vintages and ran over 12 days, from 6 to 17 October, clone by clone, for about 3.4 tonnes.

As every year, the wine was made at 10R Winery. The four lots were destemmed entirely by hand, cold-soaked for 10 to 14 days in plastic tanks, then fermented with wild yeast at 18 to 23°C, with a light punch-down or pump-over every two or three days and 22 to 25 days on the skins. After pressing and blending, the whole volume went into old French oak, some of it bought from Burgundy domaines the producer admires. It was the first Irenka raised only in barrel. After about ten months, with spontaneous malolactic, it was bottled unfined and unfiltered on 26 September 2022. 2,864 bottles were made.

In the glass

Irenka's own note describes a fairly deep garnet. The nose is a little closed right after opening, then opens markedly: blackcurrant, redcurrant, cherry and raspberry, violet and rose potpourri, with chocolate and forest floor adding a slightly smoky, earthy edge. Concentrated, generous fruit is held in by fresh acidity and fine tannin, and a slow saline, savoury note follows. The producer says it can seem flat on release, yet the return of aroma on the finish is already long, and calls the oak an accent that suits this vintage.

When to open

Give it time in the glass. Irenka sees more ageing potential here than in any earlier vintage and expects the wine to grow more layered after several more years in bottle.

At the table

Our suggestion: roast duck, mushroom dishes, or grilled lamb.

Quick facts

Provenance

Sourced from a local distributor in Japan.

Sources: Irenka (irenka.co.jp, 2021 technical sheet and vineyard page "About Irenka")