Yutaka Nakajima works from a small mountain house at 850 metres above sea level in Tomi, Nagano, within the Chikumagawa Wine Valley. He farms without chemicals, works the cellar entirely by hand using self-made wooden tools, and produces just a few thousand bottles each year. No additives. No fining. No filtration.

Since 2011, Nakajima has cultivated Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Chenin Blanc on a small slope threaded with wild grasses and herbs. In 2019, he added a higher-altitude site planted to Savagnin and Pinot Noir. The region's cooler, drier climate, closer to Europe than much of Japan, allows French varieties to ripen slowly and with extraordinary finesse.

These wines are genuinely hard to get, even in Japan. We are fortunate to have them in Australia.