Domaine Kuheiji
Pinot Noir Bourgogne 2023
About the producer — Domaine Kuheiji →
Morey-Saint-Denis, Burgundy, France · 0.75L
- Vintage
- 2023
- Format
- 0.75L
- Custody
- Bonded storage
Held privately in professional bonded storage. Recorded, not offered. Enquiries by request.
Enquire about this bottle →Producer context
Domaine Kuheiji is the Burgundy estate of the Japanese Banjo brewery, which has made Kuheiji sake in Nagoya since 1647. Its owner, Kuno Kuheiji, came to believe that wine and sake ask the same question — how a place expresses itself through fermentation — and in 2013 sent his sake brewer of fifteen years, Hirotaka Ito, to France. Ito worked Gevrey-Chambertin in 2014, the house acquired a cellar in Morey-Saint-Denis in 2015, and the first vintage followed in 2016.
Ito reads red Burgundy through fermentation rather than force. Whole bunches are laid into small tanks of about 1,600 kg with great care to avoid crushing them, left to sit, then let down slowly. He does no pigeage and only a few early remontages, believing extraction is governed by temperature and time far more than by how often the wine is worked. The aim is not to do nothing, but to prepare so carefully that very little needs to be done.
Vintage, format and cellaring
This is the 2023 vintage in standard 0.75L format — a Bourgogne-level Pinot Noir that serves as the honest entry point into the domaine's red-wine thinking. Village and regional Burgundy of this kind is typically most expressive in the near-to-medium term, though a gently made, low-sulphur wine kept in good conditions can hold and evolve for several years, gaining texture as its fruit settles.
Held in professional bonded storage from acquisition, the bottle avoids the weak points that most affect young Pinot Noir — heat, movement and broken records. Condition is read from fill level, capsule and label rather than taken on faith, and custody is documented from the moment it entered the cellar.
Why this bottle matters
Domaine Kuheiji is what happens when a sake house founded in 1647 decides to learn Burgundy from the inside. The Banjo brewery's owner, Kuno Kuheiji, established the estate in Morey-Saint-Denis; his brewer of fifteen years, Hirotaka Ito, moved to France in 2013, worked a Gevrey-Chambertin vintage in 2014, and made the house's first wine in 2016 from parcels that look toward Chambolle-Musigny. The method is fermentation-first: natural yeasts, small 1,600-kilogram tanks, whole bunches laid in with care, no pigeage — only a few early pump-overs — and minimal extraction. This Bourgogne Pinot Noir is that philosophy in its purest, most affordable form: fruit handled like rice at a great brewery, with the winemaker preparing the stage rather than playing the lead.
Cellaring perspective
A regional Bourgogne from a house this young is not a long-hold wine; it is a document of a method finding its terroir. Five to eight years of proper storage will show what Ito's gentle infusion gives Pinot Noir with a little age — and the estate's tiny production means back vintages will simply not exist on the open market. The record matters more than the rank here.
From the same cellar
About this bottle
Is this Domaine Kuheiji 2023 authentic and how is its provenance documented?
This Domaine Kuheiji Pinot Noir Bourgogne 2023 0.75L is held in professional bonded storage with documented custody. Its provenance is recorded from acquisition, the bottle remaining in professional custody, and condition is noted. The Empty Drops is a private cellar, not a reseller, and never invents data about a bottle.
How is the bottle stored and shipped?
The bottle is kept in temperature-controlled bonded storage and is not moved unless shipping is requested. It is recorded privately, not offered publicly; it can be released through CruTrade on request.
What does the fill level and condition tell you about this bottle?
Condition is read from the fill level (ullage), capsule and label rather than taken on faith. A bottle that has stayed in professional custody since acquisition avoids the usual weak points — heat, movement and broken records.
Where can I buy Domaine Kuheiji Pinot Noir Bourgogne 2023 0.75L?
Domaine Kuheiji Pinot Noir Bourgogne 2023 0.75L is recorded privately in this cellar and is not offered publicly. When a bottle is released it is handled through CruTrade, where condition and custody are documented. To ask about availability, price or a similar bottle, make a private enquiry.