Before embarking on his winemaking career, Tokyo-born Hiroyuki (known as Hiro) Kusuda trained as a lawyer, worked for Fujitsu and worked at the Consulate General of Japan in Sydney. Hiro sought a winemaking education in English, but was dissuaded by the fees that foreign students were charged at Davis in California and Roseworthy in Austrlia. Instead, he went to Germany, learned the language, enrolled at Geisenheim and then emigrated to New Zealand to work as an assistant to his friend Kai Schubert, who had been a few years ahead of him at Geisenheim. This led him to the tiny town of Martinborough to pursue both the Riesling and Pinot grapes – to which a third challenge, Syrah, has now been added. Obviously the main market for Kusuda is Japan, where they have developed a cult following, and indeed whence comes the volunteer labour force at harvest time when every grape is rigorously checked before making the cut. Hiro Kusuda is meticulous to an almost fanatical degree, but it explains the exceptional quality and amazing precision of his wines.

Kusuda Pinot Noir Martinborough 2021
12.8% abv
85% destemmed, cold soaked for 6 to 12 days. Fermented in open stainless-steel vats with pumping-over and hand plunging, total period of maceration 17 to 25 days. Aged in French (31.6% new) oak barriques for 16 months. Unfined and bottled with coarse filtration.
From the high-density block (majority 7400 plants/ha) we started to lease in 2011 then purchased after the 2015 vintage. Dry spring followed by very warm summer with the wetter than usual February. It was tricky to find the balance between the rising sugar level and the tannin maturity. Only 4940 bottles produced.
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2021 | Australasia | Duty Paid | Kusuda | Martinborough | New Zealand | Pinot Noir | Red | Still | Wine- Reference #:
- 20413
- Strength
- 12.8 ABV
- Bottles per Case
- 6 bottles
- Grapes
- Pinot Noir
- Organic
- No
- Biodynamic
- No
- Vegan
- Yes
- Vegetarian
- Yes
- Sparkling
- No
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