Osamu Uchida

Osamu Uchida grew up in Hiroshima where his parents had a wine shop, fascinated with French culture and having a strong desire to work in wine he made the trip to France in 1999. After learning some basic French, he enrolled for a course on viticulture and oenology before travelling throughout the country, working stages and visiting as many as 300 domaines over ten years. Like many, his vision of Bordeaux as a wine region was tainted by the bling-bling and corporate image, but drawn to the region’s long winemaking history, the quality of its terroir and hooked up by the spirit of camaraderie between like-minded vignerons (e.g. Closeries des Moussis, Clos du Jaugueyron, Château des Graviers) he discovered another facet of Bordeaux. It completely changed his mind and he found himself settling down even though that was never the original plan! After months of research, he finally found a tiny one-hectare parcel surrounded by cool and humid Landes forest, in the village of Cissac-Médoc, west of Pauillac and St Estèphe. Planted with cabernet sauvignon only and completely secluded, this is a stunning place which Osamu tends like if it was his back garden. Everything is done by hand with complete focus, precision and obsessive attention to details in typical Japanese fashion. His gentle approach in the cellar allows him to coax incredibly supple, succulent fruit out of his vines. He produces a mere 2,400 bottles, when nature permits, from his garage just 125m away from Mouton Rothschild’s headquarters. Osamu’s wine is lifted, incredibly fine and pure, and just 11.6% alcohol!