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.

Georgia Winery Visits, Part 2

 As I pass through the region, I see a lot of young vineyards, a sign of strong growth. The vineyards look healthy. Many are quite closely planted, only suitable for hand harvesting. What will happen when salaries increase? The area is 600-800 meters in elevation, the diurnal variation is quite high.

My next stop is at Orgo. I am also tasting the Dakishvili range here, as both wineries have the same owner. Both wineries together produce 300,000 bottles per year, 70% in the traditional method.

The first wine is the Orgo 2021 Rkatsiteli. It has a similar flavour profile to the Schuchmann, with apricot and fig notes. It is a bit more acidic, and the mouthfeel is not as big (88 points). The 2020 Kisi shows a very dark amber colour, partly a result of the grape variety, but could also be because of late harvesting, longer skin contact or more substantial sulphur treatment. The green apple and apricot flavours are quite intense. It is an elegant wine with quite silky tannins (91 points). Then there is a cuvee from 2021, from 85% Rkatsiteli and some other varieties. This is a very fresh wine with apple and pear flavours, quite lush (89 points).

One of the unfortunate aspects of tasting in Georgia is that all wines are very young. Wineries are only starting now to hold some wines back. Apparently these white wines are ageing well. This is even more an issue with the red variety of Saperavi, which is acidic and tannic, and would benefit from ageing. However, here I taste the 2021 Saperavi, fermented in the clay amphora, and then transferred to stainless steel. In contrast to most other red varieties, not only the skin of the Saperavi grapes is red, but also the pulp. It is often labeled ‘black wine’. This wine bursts out with plum and black cherry flavours. It is an elegant wine with fine tannins (93 points).

The Dakishvili wines appear a little finer than the Orgo range. The colour in the wines is a little lighter. I taste a similar set. I rate the first three wines 90-92 points. A special wine is the last one, a 2020 50/50 blend of Saperavi and Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine combines the fleshy flavours of Saperavi with the elegance and length of Cabernet Sauvignon. It works well (93 points).

Georgia Winery Visits, Part 1

 I am in Kakheti, Georgia’s largest wine subregion with 70% of the country’s production. Georgia is of course the cradle of winemaking, assumed to have started here about 8000 years ago. The wines obviously do not taste the same today, but the indigenous varieties stem from that time, although with some mutations. The second reason this region is unique is the qvevri production method. The wines are fermented in large clay amphora and the juice left on lees for some time below the ground.

This vessel is 500 litres. Most in use today are2000-2500 litres

Cleaning brushes and sticks

Underground storage

My first stop is Schuchmann Wines. As I discovered later, it set the bar quite high. It is a large winery with more than 100,000 cases per year. 80% is done in the ‘European’ style, 20% in the much more laborious qvevri style. The company exports to 25 countries. The first comparison is between the 2021 ‘modern’ Rkatsiteli and the 2020 Rkatsiteli made in qvevri. Rkatsiteli is the most common white variety in Georgia. The modern wine is dry, with fruity apple flavours and crispy acidity. It is well made, but not special (89 points). The amber wine is called Vinoterra. It has been left on skins for six months underground. It tastes of apricot and figs, nicely rounded on the front palate, toasty flavours on the back palate, but lacking some acidity (90 points).

Rkatsiteli is a popular variety because it is high yielding and adaptable. In contrast, Kisi is much lower yielding and delivers more intensity. As a result, The 2020 Kisi is much darker, although the winemaking is exactly the same.This wine tastes of apricot, red apple and pear. The main feature, though is the texture and elegant mouthfeel. It is quite a dense wine, honeyed, and silky at the same time (93 points).

Saperavi is the main red variety. The 2020 Schuchmann Saperavi is dry, but quite fruity, with plum and mulberry flavours.The wine is quite spicy (not pepper), with firm acidity and tannins. The wine is well balanced and will be much better to drink in a few years time (92 points). I find the closest comparison in terms of fruit flavours and spice is Cabernet Franc.

Oberall, this was an interesting and high quality set of wines.