Kenjiro & Mayumi Kagami

Stunningly Pure
THAT ANYTHING BUT MAINSTREAM GUY
Kenjiro Kagami's journey from Japan to France is a testament to his courage and passion for winemaking. Captivated by the breathtaking beauty of the Jura, he decides to buy the vineyard in Grusse because he is hopelessly in love with the unique place and the silence of Sud Revermont. Besides, grapes in Alsace and Burgundy are far too expensive. It is not easy, but a skilled engineer from Hitachi can take a beating. He has always had a passion for the grape, so he made a rigorous decision in 2001. He left his native Japan for good and settled in France. Ambitiously, he starts learning the French language, which he quickly masters. 2002, he studied oenology and did an apprenticeship in Chambolle Musigny with Comte Georges de Vogüé before joining Thierry Allemand in Cornas in 2004. He gets an entirely different perspective on (natural) wine in Alsace with his spiritual father and inspiration Bruno Schueller - that anything-but-mainstream guy - where he stays for eight years and gets a grip on how VA ripens and integrates.

FANFAN
Meanwhile, the always cheerful Mayumi, whom he met in Tokyo and is a well-known rose grower in Japan, has flown over from Japan to realise their dream of their vineyard together. Their thoughts are on land with a marl and limestone soil because it produces fresh and complex wines. Kenjiro is a big fan of Chenin Blanc and has also considered a life in the Loire, but when he was introduced to Jean-François Ganevat (FanFan for insiders) by Bruno Schueller, he had a quick look. Ganevat had pointed him to an exceptionally beautifully situated vineyard on the slopes just above the village of Grusse not far from Rotalier, which had been enthusiastically planted in 2004 by the village collective led by the mayor to revive the village's wine culture. Over the years, the fields were never chemically fertilised. Domaine des Miroirs is an obvious choice because Kagami means 'mirror' in Japanese, and Kenjiro wants to shape the estate in his image.

RELIGION
Since its inception in 2011, all his wines have been officially labelled Ecocert. Even though he struggles with his first harvest because he does not have the necessary equipment and has to borrow materials, the carefully hand-picked grapes are super healthy and of sublime quality. Colleagues, friends and acquaintances are happy to help him. Kenjiro is incredibly warm and welcoming, and I think his shyness and humility may make you appreciate the wines even more. His unique sensitivity that seems almost mystical in his appreciation of the finer senses in life sometimes feels verging on religious. Even before Domaine des Miroirs debuted its small 2011 vintage, Kenjiro tasted mythical. On our first visit in 2012, I remember being gripped by blind faith in taste and balance, somewhere between heaven and earth, but wondering if it was wine.

SAVAGNIN
Kenjiro's 4 hectares start just below a forest and slope southwest. They extend to his latest one-hectare addition, which used to belong to FanFan. On the slope are the red grapes. The white varieties include a few rows of Riesling in homage to Alsace, but the most significant part is Savagnin. Without ploughing, the vines were manually planted into the ground after removing the primal acacia roots, a substantial labour-intensive job done with diligence and perseverance and a true masterpiece.
Kagami and Mayumi currently own 1.5ha of Chardonnay, 1ha of Savagnin, 40are of Poulsard, 20are of Trousseau and 1ha of additional Savagnin plantings. Mayumi is mainly found in the vineyard, where you can feel her energy tingling, so to speak, among the bees, grasshoppers and fluttering butterflies in a wealth of herbs, plants and flowers.

DEDICATION AND RESPECT
Kenjiro Kagami's winemaking philosophy is a testament to dedication and respect. His wines, raised unfiltered in wooden barrels without sulphur, are highly expressive and incredibly complex. They are truly great wines, always showing abundant youth. Kenjiro's approach is unique-no extraction method is used, no punch down, no press, nothing at all, or almost nothing, the mildest infusion. The wine ferments for 45 days, and that's all. They need time to settle, come into their own, and stay in the cellar for at least four to five years. Kenjiro's dedication to waiting for the wine and bottling it at just the right time is a mark of his mastery. The wines often embrace the edge of reduction and openness, a noble pursuit of the most subtle balance between the vine, the wine and the land. This dedication earns him the respect and honour of being one of the best artisans in Jura.

PIONEER
Kenjiro Kagami's wines are a unique experience. We can regularly be found in Grusse testing the limits of our palate. The wines are always brilliant and precise, and they have the identity and nuances of all the characteristics that characterise the magic of Kenjiro Kagami's wines. Kenjiro Kagami is not only the pioneer of Japanese settling in France to make vibrant wines, but he is also the spiritual chord that touches us and cannot be put into words.

LEGENDARIUM
30% Of the wines go to Japan, 30% stay in France, and 30% go to the other export markets. His wines, produced in tiny quantities and therefore relatively high-priced, have become so legendary that they are distributed worldwide on a list—by—box basis. I suspect all the wines will be drunk long before they reach their peak of maturity.