Mariko Rosé
椀子ロゼ
Chateau Mercian
Syrah · Merlot · Cabernet Franc · Cabernet Sauvignon
About this wine
Mariko Rosé is a premium dry rosé from Château Mercian's Mariko Vineyard in Ueda City, Nagano — a high-altitude, low-rainfall, well-drained site whose black-grape varieties (Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon) are blended into this salmon-pink wine. It shows a layered nose of ripe cassis and other dark berries alongside fresh raspberry, strawberry, and hawthorn, with floral notes reminiscent of rose and camellia. Gentle acidity and restrained tannins give it surprising weight and structure for a rosé, resulting in a substantial, food-friendly dry style that has become one of the benchmark rosés of Japanese winemaking.
A great entry point into serious Japanese rosé — fuller-bodied than most, refreshing yet substantial, and easy to pair with almost anything on the table.
Sommelier's Note
"One of the benchmark rosés of Japanese winemaking — its blend of Bordeaux and Rhône varieties from Mariko's high-altitude terroir gives it a weight and floral complexity that few rosés from Japan can match."
Food Pairings
Its structure and gentle tannins make it versatile with grilled shrimp cocktail, roast duck, and white fish pasta with shungiku (chrysanthemum greens). It also stands up well to Chinese-style dishes such as sweet and sour pork, twice-cooked pork, and chili shrimp, and pairs naturally with everyday Japanese home cooking built on soy sauce and mirin, including teriyaki chicken.
When to drink it
Ideal for spring and summer gatherings, as an aperitif at dinner parties, or alongside a mixed Japanese or Chinese-leaning meal where a single wine needs to cover many dishes.
Specs
- Grape Varieties
- Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon
- Style
- Rosé
- Price Range
- ¥3,000-4,000
Terroir & Winemaking
Grapes are hand-harvested from late September through mid-October at optimal ripeness. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks at 18–20°C over roughly 14 days to preserve fresh fruit character, followed by about five months of aging in stainless steel before release — no oak is used, keeping the wine's vivid aromatics and crisp structure intact.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What grapes are used in Mariko Rosé?
- It is blended from black grapes grown at Château Mercian's Mariko Vineyard — primarily Syrah and Merlot, with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
- What does Mariko Rosé taste like?
- It offers a salmon-pink color with ripe dark berry and fresh red fruit aromas, rose and camellia florals, gentle acidity, and a dry, fuller-bodied finish for a rosé.
- What food pairs well with Mariko Rosé?
- It pairs with shrimp cocktail, roast duck, and pasta with white fish, as well as Chinese dishes like sweet and sour pork, and everyday Japanese soy-and-mirin home cooking.
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Talk to the SommelierMore wines from this producer
シャトー・メルシャン 甲州きいろ香
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WhiteKoshu
Château Mercian Koshu Kiiroka is a landmark wine that redefined the potential of Japan's indigenous Koshu grape. Developed in collaboration with the University of Bordeaux, this wine utilizes specific yeast strains to highlight the 'Kiiroka' (yellow aroma) profile—a distinct citrusy, grapefruit-like bouquet reminiscent of Sauvignon Blanc. Characterized by crisp acidity, elegant structure, and a refreshing clean finish that showcases the purity of the fruit, this wine has played a pivotal role in elevating the international reputation of Japanese viticulture, proving that Koshu can produce world-class, aromatic dry white wines.
シャトー・メルシャン 椀子ワイナリー シャルドネ
Château Mercian Mariko Winery Chardonnay
WhiteChardonnay
Château Mercian Mariko Winery Chardonnay is a premium white wine crafted from grapes grown in the Mariko Vineyard in Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture. Situated at high elevation with excellent drainage and significant diurnal temperature variation, this terroir yields Chardonnay of remarkable concentration and elegance. The wine exhibits vibrant acidity with flavors of citrus, white peach, and subtle toasted oak, representing the pinnacle of Japanese Chardonnay and Château Mercian's meticulous viticulture.
シャトー・メルシャン 椀子メルロー
Château Mercian Mariko Winery Merlot
RedMerlot
Château Mercian Mariko Winery Merlot is the flagship red wine of the Mariko Vineyard in Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture, made from 100% estate-grown Merlot. Hand-harvested from vines rooted in the region's low-rainfall, clay-rich terroir, the grapes are fermented in stainless steel and wooden vats at 25-30°C for roughly two weeks before aging around a year in French oak barrels. The result is a deep ruby-red wine of remarkable concentration, marrying ripe, almost jammy black fruit with the structure and tannic power that has made Mariko Merlot one of the benchmark wines of Japanese viticulture.
シャトー・メルシャン 椀子ワイナリー ソーヴィニヨン・ブラン
Château Mercian Mariko Winery Sauvignon Blanc
WhiteSauvignon Blanc
Château Mercian Mariko Winery Sauvignon Blanc is crafted from 100% Sauvignon Blanc grown at the estate-owned Mariko Vineyard on the Jinba plateau in Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture. The vineyard's low rainfall, gravelly clay soil, and cool climate yield grapes with vivid aromatics — grapefruit, lemon, lime, passion fruit, and fresh herbs — supported by crisp acidity and a refined mineral character that reflects Château Mercian's meticulous terroir-driven viticulture.
シャトー・メルシャン 椀子シラー
Château Mercian Mariko Winery Syrah
RedSyrah
Château Mercian Mariko Winery Syrah is a single-vineyard red wine made from 100% Syrah grown in the Mariko Vineyard on the Jinba plateau in Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture. The vineyard's low rainfall, well-drained soil, and pronounced diurnal temperature swings produce a cool-climate Syrah with pronounced white and black pepper spice, violet aromatics, and dark berry fruit, framed by fine tannins and refreshing acidity. Since Château Mercian began planting the vineyard in 2003, Mariko has repeatedly been named one of Asia's top entries in the World's Best Vineyards ranking, and this Syrah has gone on to win medals at the Decanter World Wine Awards and International Wine Challenge, cementing its reputation as one of Japan's benchmark cool-climate Syrahs.
北信カベルネ・ソーヴィニヨン
Hokushin Cabernet Sauvignon
RedCabernet Sauvignon
Hokushin Cabernet Sauvignon is Château Mercian's terroir-driven red wine from the Hokushin district in northern Nagano Prefecture, where the producer began VSP trellis cultivation of Cabernet Sauvignon in 2000. The area's sandy, gravelly soil offers excellent drainage, and its low rainfall combined with a wide diurnal temperature swing allows for slow, even ripening. The wine shows a deep garnet color with aromas of ripe blackberry and cassis layered with red fruit nuances of raspberry, and notes of chocolate and vanilla from oak aging. On the palate it is well balanced, with ample acidity and firm, fine-grained tannins, vinified and aged for around 18 months in oak barrels at Château Mercian's Katsunuma Winery in Yamanashi.