Georgia Winery Visits, Part 3

 Today’s visit is at Pheasant’s Tears, an artisan organic winery with a production of only 3000 cases. All are fermented in qvevri.  The name is unusual. Apparently, there is a saying that when a wine tastes so delicious, it can bring even a pheasant to tears. The winery exports to Australia, even Dan Murphy’s had some, but currently they are difficult to find.

The first wine is a 2021 Tsolicauri from the western part of the country. This is quite a fresh wine, not kept on skins. It displays lemon flavours, and some balanced acidity - a perfect wine for summer lunch (89 points). The 2021 Rkatsiteli is also very refreshing. It is kept only for one month on skins. It is quite an edgy wine, with green apple and pear flavours dominant. Firm acidity gives this wine some bite (91 points). The focus of this winery is clearly on freshness. The grapes are picked earlier than is common, alcohol levels at 12-12.5% are 1%point lower than other producers. Also, this winery does not use any sulphur whatsoever.

The next wine is a rarity, only made by 2 or 3 producers. This is the 2021 Vardisperi Rkatsiteli, based on grapes with darker skin.. The wine has much darker amber colour and is a little cloudy. Grapefruit, apricot and hazelnut deliver a complex palate. There is sufficient acidity to deliver balance, but I would be reluctant to age this wine. It drinks great now (93 points).

An interesting comment was made why amber wines are so popular in Georgia. People here are reluctant to switch wines during a meal. Amber wines go well with lighter appetizers, but also meat. This is a bit of an ex post explanation, surely, as wines were made this way for a long time, however, it does make sense.

The 2021 Saperavi is the lightest of this variety I have tasted, despite 14% alcohol. It has been matured for 9 months in qvevri. This very dark wine tastes of sour cherry and black cherry and has a very sappy finish (93 points).

This ends my notes on Georgian wines. I was delighted about the quality across the board of these unique wines. I only experienced one wine, a Tsinandali Estate Saperavi, I did not enjoy. I now have a much better understanding of amber wines. They do not need to be unstable and funky. Adelaide Hills, eat your heart out.