Osamu Uchida - Rosa Bordeaux Blend 2022

Born in Hiroshima Japan in 1977, Osamu Uchida grew up with parents who owned a wine shop and a rice-farmer grandfather.  The family heritage as farmers and wine merchants inspired Osamu's passion for France and its vineyards.  His dream of making wine led Osamu to move to France in 1999 to study viticulture and oenology in Bordeaux. 

His home located in Pauillac is about 100 yards from Mouton-Rothschild.  When you enter; there is a Japanese heritage present.  The crest of his family is at the entrance, there is a beautiful mini orchard with a diversity of plants, trees, flowers, horsetail, tomatoes and fresh herbs. There is a wooden tank to collect rain water to prepare biodynamic tisane or dynamization. Two chickens called Grasse and Grise (Big & Grey) run about. Inside one of his huts, two barrels of homemade soy sauce is fermenting.

Inside the garage is a petite cellar.  When the grapes arrive they are all de-stemmed by hand and delicately brought to a large wooden tank where the berries will macerate for 2 weeks at cool temperature. They are pressed and part of the juice will ferment and age for one year in terracotta and 500L used oak barrels. There is no filtration or fining. Finally, the vinification is carried out with wild yeasts and the wine is sulfured at a minimum level before bottling. The wines of Osamu are all about finesse, elegance and drinkability.

Bordeaux is changing and the quality is rising. Among a few adventurous winemakers, Osamu Uchida's  approach and unique wine makes Osamu one of the new, exciting faces of the region. 

Rosa is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 37 years old vines located in Cissac-Medoc. 2022 was a challenging and demanding vintage, very warm starting in May, followed by thunderstorms, heat during the summer with very light rain, with a September experiencing diurnal temperature. Harvest took place on 10/02 and the yields were on average 25hl/ha. No intrant, only a small amount of SO2 before bottling, 1 year of aging in 500L barrels and jar.

Display notes of black fruits (like blackcurrant and blackberry), along with hints of cedar, tobacco, and sometimes graphite or pencil lead.

Type: Red
Producer: Osamu Uchida
Varietal: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20%Merlot
Country: France
Region: Bordeaux, Haut-Médoc
Farming: Organic conversion, Biodynamic