Japanese Producers, Part II

Domaine Takahiko
Who: Takahiko Soga
4.6 hectares
Varieties: Pinot Noir

“Takahiko Soga is the real deal,” my friend the winemaker Tomoko Kuriyama has long told me. I knew that through tasting his wines over the years. Hard to come by in the west, but I had them in Paris, in New York City and I was impressed that they were not new world or old world imitations though they weren’t breaking new ground either. They were simply pinot noir on volcanic soils, near the sea and delicious. And finally we got to meet the maker, often seen as the best in the country.