Top Wines
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Red
Kusuda Pinot Noir
1,898 bottles
CT93.7 average score
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Red
Kusuda Syrah
892 bottles
CT92.8 average score
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White
Kusuda Riesling
759 bottles
CT93 average score
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Top Tasters
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1. LindsayM
31 Tasting Notes
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2. Tony Ling
11 Tasting Notes
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3. HowardNZ
10 Tasting Notes
Producer website
Hiroyuki Kusuda’s Martinborough vineyard has 1.6 ha of Pinot Noir, 1.2 of Syrah and even less Riesling. ‘Hand-crafted’ was never more appropriate a descirption. The now ‘famous/infamous’ vintage regime involves picking each berry individually when it is at perfect ripeness, necessitating several fastidious passes through the vines.
Having exhausted his savings during his four years at Geisenheim, Kusuda leased an unirrigated pinot vine yard near Martinborough, and made the first vintage (and all subsequent vintages) at the Schubert Winery in 2002. While pinot noir remains the principal focus, he makes a similar amount of syrah (3000 to 4000 bottles of each if the vintage is kind), and made his first riesling in 2009. It is here his Japanese army comes into play: every year 20 to 30 friends fly in from Japan at their own expense. One tonne of pinot grapes will typically take two days to hand-pick and thereafter undergo a berry-by-berry inspection (after passing through the destemmer). Even the slightest imperfection will result in rejection; the true cost of production is many times the price of the wine.
Tokyo-born Hiroyuki (known as Hiro) Kusuda trained as a lawyer and worked for Fujitsu, then the Consulate General of Japan in Sydney before giving it all up to pursue his other love, wine and winemaking. He went to Germany, learned the language, enrolled at Geisenheim and then emigrated to New Zealand to pursue both the Riesling and Pinot grapes – to which a third challenge, Syrah, has now been added. The choice of New Zealand in general and Martinborough in particular apparently came about through tasting the 1992 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir.
Hiro is a driven individual, totally focussed on seeking purity of fruit character in his wines. A key feature to achieve quality is the extremely meticulous if not fanatical sorting of the fruit, at harvest and especially on the berries before vinification. The Claremont Motel in Martinborough has Kusuda as their most important client during vintage as hordes of pickers pay their own way from Japan to say they've been able to work with one of Japan's most highly regarded winemakers and contribute to the quality! Some stay for two days, others for a month or more. It takes 2-3 days for 10-15 people to sort through one tonne of Pinot Noir, depending on the health of the fruit. From around 10-15 tonnes of fruit, the annual output is less than 1,000 cases. 70% of the tiny Kusuda production goes to Japan, where it has a cult following. The remainder is sold evenly in NZ, Australia and the UK.
Hiroyuki Kusuda’s Martinborough vineyard has 1.6 ha of Pinot Noir, 1.2 of Syrah and even less Riesling. ‘Hand-crafted’ was never more appropriate a descirption. The now ‘famous/infamous’ vintage regime involves picking each berry individually when it is at perfect ripeness, necessitating several fastidious passes through the vines.
Having exhausted his savings during his four years at Geisenheim, Kusuda leased an unirrigated pinot vine yard near Martinborough, and made the first vintage (and all subsequent vintages) at the Schubert Winery in 2002. While pinot noir remains the principal focus, he makes a similar amount of syrah (3000 to 4000 bottles of each if the vintage is kind), and made his first riesling in 2009. It is here his Japanese army comes into play: every year 20 to 30 friends fly in from Japan at their own expense. One tonne of pinot grapes will typically take two days to hand-pick and thereafter undergo a berry-by-berry inspection (after passing through the destemmer). Even the slightest imperfection will result in rejection; the true cost of production is many times the price of the wine.
Tokyo-born Hiroyuki (known as Hiro) Kusuda trained as a lawyer and worked for Fujitsu, then the Consulate General of Japan in Sydney before giving it all up to pursue his other love, wine and winemaking. He went to Germany, learned the language, enrolled at Geisenheim and then emigrated to New Zealand to pursue both the Riesling and Pinot grapes – to which a third challenge, Syrah, has now been added. The choice of New Zealand in general and Martinborough in particular apparently came about through tasting the 1992 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir.
Hiro is a driven individual, totally focussed on seeking purity of fruit character in his wines. A key feature to achieve quality is the extremely meticulous if not fanatical sorting of the fruit, at harvest and especially on the berries before vinification. The Claremont Motel in Martinborough has Kusuda as their most important client during vintage as hordes of pickers pay their own way from Japan to say they've been able to work with one of Japan's most highly regarded winemakers and contribute to the quality! Some stay for two days, others for a month or more. It takes 2-3 days for 10-15 people to sort through one tonne of Pinot Noir, depending on the health of the fruit. From around 10-15 tonnes of fruit, the annual output is less than 1,000 cases. 70% of the tiny Kusuda production goes to Japan, where it has a cult following. The remainder is sold evenly in NZ, Australia and the UK.
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Group wines by:
| wine type | Name, Type, Locale | Year |
|---|---|---|
| White |
Kusuda Riesling(View Label Image)White, New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough |
|
| Red |
Kusuda Half AcreRed, New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough |
|
| Red |
Kusuda Merlot Cabernet(View Label Image)Red, New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough |
|
| Red |
Kusuda Pinot Noir(View Label Image)Red, New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough |
|
| Red |
Kusuda Pinot Noir C(View Label Image)Red, New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough |
|
| Red |
Kusuda Pinot Noir G(View Label Image)Red, New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough |
|
| Red |
Kusuda Syrah(View Label Image)Red, New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough |
|
| White - Sweet/Dessert |
Kusuda Riesling Beerenauslese(View Label Image)White - Sweet/Dessert, New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough |
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| White - Sweet/Dessert |
Kusuda Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese(View Label Image)White - Sweet/Dessert, New Zealand, North Island, Wairarapa, Martinborough |