Frankrike – Jura

Domaine des Miroirs

Första gången vi träffade Kenjiro Kagami var under ett besök hos Alsace-legenden Bruno Schueller. Året var 2010, och efter sju års arbete hos Bruno hade det blivit dags för Kenjiro och hans hustru Mayumi att flytta vidare till byn Grusse i södra Jura. Där hade de kommit över drygt tre hektar vinmark i en svindlande vacker dalgång. Det var dags att starta eget.

Ingenjörsutbildade Kenjiro landade i Jura eftersom han sökte kalkrika jordar av marint ursprung att jobba med. Hans vinintresse hade tagit honom från studier i franska och skolning kring klassiska viner, via en vinmakarutbildning i Beaune med praktik i Chambolle-Musigny, till arbete hos Cornas-veteranen Thierry Allemand – samt slutligen sju år hos Schueller.

De tidigare övergivna markerna i Grusse planterades om 2005 med chardonnay och savagnin, poulsard och trousseau. Jordarna domineras av kalkrik märgel och brukas med ekologiska metoder. I den enkla källaren får vinerna ta all den tid de behöver att mogna. Mestadels i medelstora ekliggare, därefter i flaska, och alltid utan tillsatser. De vita vinerna går i en särpräglat elegant stil med gul frukt och salt mineralitet.

Kenjiro och Mayumi har haft tre tuffa år med stora problem av frost och hagel. De senaste skördarna har typiskt bara gett 20 hl vin från domänens tre hektar. När vi provade tillsammans i källaren kunde vi ändå glädjas åt kvaliteten, som är extremt lovande. Årgång 2019 upplevs magisk för de vita vinerna, med stor koncentration, briljant syrafokus och ringande längd. De röda från 2020 charmerar å andra sidan med sagolikt ren och öppen frukt.

Domaine des Miroirs är utan tvekan ett av de mest intressanta namnen ur den nya generationen vinodlare i Jura. När vi tänker på de enkla förhållanden paret lever under, blir det extra sorgligt hur deras viner fallit offer för internationell spekulation. Låt oss fortsätta stötta dem så gott vi kan!

”Hello, I am Kenjiro Kagami of Domaine des Miroirs. I would like to introduce our winery in my own words.

After living and working in Alsace for about six and a half years, I moved to the village of Grusse in the south of the Jura department at the end of February 2011, bought a vineyard, and started life as a wine producer with my wife. Since moving to France in 2001, I have moved to Burgundy, Northern Rhone, and Alsace to learn French, wine making as an academic discipline, and actual wine making. The final destination was Jura.

Jura is generally known as the land of Vin Jaune. However, I feel that because this image is too strong, other things are not talked about much. The soil can be described as a land formed by the limestone bedrock formed during the Jurassic period, with layers of marl, clay, etc., changing in proportion, covering the bedrock depending on the site conditions. This characteristic limestone and marl highlight the individuality of this land, and I thought that this individuality could be fully reflected and maintain its uniqueness in both traditional Jura wines that have undergone oxidative aging and wines that do not undergo oxidative aging. The appeal of these features was a major factor in choosing Jura as a land.

Our vineyard is a single plot of about 3.2 hectares, overlooking the village of Grusse and isolated from other fields. This vineyard is surrounded by forests on three sides, where the traditional landscape spreads. Until the 1950s, grapes were planted by generations in this field, but due to factors such as the difficulty of work and low yield due to the steep terrain, people gave up grape growing and moved to fields where work was easier, and gradually absorbed into the forest. The field that had been abandoned for cultivation and had been reforested since the 1950s, when herbicides did not exist, and has not been sprayed with herbicides even once since 2005 when grapes were replanted, was the environment we aspired to. A variety of plants are naturally growing, and various flowers are in full bloom according to the season. This field is one section (strictly speaking, about 2.5ha and about 0.7ha separated by a small path), but the soil has several personalities due to the difference in small uplifts and the composition of the topsoil.

Long and short until now, meeting various people and touching each person’s senses, and the many experiences gained from working and living together at past work places are irreplaceable assets and independence It was very meaningful in having my own thinking and stance toward wine making, and in retrospect, I feel that I was more influenced mentally than operationally. The thinking and stance I hold is based on what is currently there, and I expect myself to change in a good way in the future.”