I discovered a wonderful wine “Domaine Mie Ikeno”

(September 2018)

I discovered a wonderful wine.

I had lunch in a Japanese restaurant called Kazahana at the Conrad hotel in Tokyo.

I had already reserved a table and a Kaiseki.

Kaiseki is a traditional multiple-course meal.

I was led to a table with an ocean view.

It was a fine day and from my table I was able to look at Tokyo Bay.

I looked through the pages of the wine list and the name of a Japanese white wine caught my attention.

This was “Domaine Mie Ikeno”.

I have known about this wine but I had never tried it.

This is because it is difficult to obtain.

This wine has a low production volume and is pretty popular among wine lovers.

I ordered the wine that I desired.

After a little while, a sommelier showed up and placed the bottle of wine in front of me.

He showed me the label on the bottle, and he said, “This is the last bottle”.

I’m in luck.

At first, the sommelier pulled  the cork out of the bottle, and then he gradually poured the wine into the glass.

It was a beautiful yellow color.

As I picked the glass up and slightly flicked my wrist, I noticed that the wine smelled fruity.

I took a sip of it.

The acidity and a sweetness were well balanced.

I said to the sommelier “It’s really delicious”.

This wine goes well with today’s dishes.

I really like this Japanese restaurant Kazahana.

This restaurant always meets my expectations.

The Domaine Mie Ikno Chardonnay was great.

I thought its taste was similar to a Burgundy white wine, Domaine Leflaive Macon Verze.

Both Mie Ikeno and Leflaive had a gentle sweetness. 

I like these types of wine.   

I think white wine and Japanese cuisine go well together.

Of course, Japanese sake is good too.

However, I think the complexity of the wine brings out the potential of Japanese cuisine, like a chemical reaction.

I’m glad that delicious Japanese white wines have increased recently.