Wine & Spirits - December 2020 - 98

FOCUS:
GEORGIAN WINE

cidery acidity adding lift; a bit of skin tannins adds firmness without aggression, making this a gentle introduction to qvevri wines. §
Saperavi USA, Pawtucket, RI

MTSVANE

Our blind panels tasted 67 Georgian wines over the past 12 months. Tara Q. Thomas,
our critic for Georgia, rated 16 as exceptional (90+) and 7 as Best Buys.
Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com.

S PA RK L I N G

a traditional chicken in walnut sauce would
make a fine match. § Georgian Wine House,
Beltsville, MD
279168

90 | Otia

279162

90 | Shumi

$60

2017 Tsinandali Shobili Begotten Qvevri
Brut Nature Based on chinuri, with 30
percent mtsvane, this is a elegant sparkler.
Winemaker Giorgi Khatiashvili started with
destemmed grapes he fermented in qvevri
(Georgia's traditional earthenware vessels)
with the skins for four days; he then moved
the juice into clean qvevri to finish fermentation and rest for four months. Then he
added a liqueur de tirage to the wine before
bottling, to induce a second fermentation.
Aged on the lees for 22 months, the result
is creamy and fresh, with herbal notes that
lift the lemon-and-tart-apple flavors while
toasty lees fill out the base. § Saperavi USA,
Pawtucket, RI

W HI T E
279167

91 | Teliani Valley

$30

2018 Kartli Wine People Nika Chochishvili Chinebuli ^ Wine People is a new partnership between Teliani Valley, founded in 1997,
and growers who are interested in starting
their own commercial wineries. Nika Chochishvili is one of those people-a former
military logistician who's now working with
chinebuli (also known as chinuri), a high-acid
white-wine grape native to Kartli. His 2018
is immediately attractive in its honeysuckle
scents and floral white-peach flavor; the skin
tannins come in a few beats later, adding
savor and heft to the wine. It feels creamy
and firm, with a slightly bitter, smoky edge
that suggests this is best served with dinner-
98

WINE & SPIRITS

DECEMBER 2020

279193

87 | Mukuzani

$16

2017 Kakheti Silk Road MaNavi (Best Buy) ^
Made from mtsvane, this combines sweet
candied-lemon flavors with savory notes of
almond and stone, the flavors holding on
with a slightly pithy grip. § AG Global Trade,
Orlando, FL

KISI

RKATSITELI

93 | Kakhuri Gvinis Marani $20

93 | Tsikhelishvili

$40

91 | Rosha Winery

$28

279177

2018 Kakheti Amber Qvevri Kisi (Best
Buy) ^ Temuri Gonjilashvili makes both Western-style and qvevri wines at this large winery
in Gurjaani. This wine was made in qvevri,
but it manages to straddle both worlds in its
flavors: It's juicy and plump, with notes of
yellow plum and wild strawberry; it's also
lightly tannic, with a broad, smoky savor.
The wine lasts, with grapefruit acidity accenting its fresh side. The combination works
especially well with highly spiced dishes, like
curried winter squash and a mustard-seedspecked dal. § Interbalt Products, Rockville, MD
279176

91 | Dakishvili

CHINURI

$25

2018 Kakheti Amber Qvevri Chinuri ^ This
combines chinuri's delicate flavors with the
tannic force of a qvevri wine. The bright acidity gives the green-pear flavors crunch and
succulence; the grape-skin tannins add an
earthy firmness. The combination, along
with the wine's fresh-mushroom fruitiness,
brings to mind a pairing with mushroom
risotto. § Georgian Wine House, Beltsville, MD

$27

2018 Kakheti Amber Dry Kisi ^ Gogi Dakishvili is one of Georgia's most well known
winemakers, having helped establish Teliani
Valley and Schuchmann wineries as well as
Orgo. This wine comes from his family winery, run with his son Temur. It's a restrained
kisi, with the juicy savor of an heirloom
apple-not sweet, but fragrant and spicy. A
firm backbone of acidity keeps the wine fresh
for days after the bottle is opened. § Georgian
Wine House, Beltsville, MD
279178

90 | Shumi

$25

2018 Georgia Vinobiza Qvevri Kisi ^ This
shows the plump, floral fruit tones that make
kisi one of Georgia's easiest varieties to love.
It tastes of sweet pears and apples, with a

279201

2013 Kakheti Alvani Rkatsiteli ^ This is a
wild wine, a crisp, fragrant rkatsiteli that
unexpectedly developed a layer of flor while
aging. It's the work of Aleksi Tsikhelishvili,
who began producing wine from his six
acres in 2009. For this wine, he foot-pressed
the grapes, then fermented the mash in
qvevri for seven months. Then he moved it
into barrels for two days with lees stirring,
before moving it back into qvevri. It's now a
dark gold, with scents that range from Fino
Sherry to golden raisins, herbs, sandalwood
and cedar. The most arresting aspect is the
wine's saline intensity, a sea-spray freshness
that invigorates the mouthwatering flavors.
Just try to drink a glass without feeling the
need for a bowl of salted nuts or a chunk of
hard cheese. It also makes a fine accompaniment to a cheese pie, whether a bready Georgian-style or a delicate phyllo-wrapped one. §
Black Lamb Wine, Oakland, CA
279199
2018 Kakheti Anthos Qvevris Rkatsiteli ^
This wine stayed just long enough in qvevri
to turn marigold yellow and take on notes of
almonds, spice and quince paste, while still
retaining some crunch and freshness in its
green-grape flavor. It's reserved in its presentation, with a silky texture and fine-grit
tannins that make it especially flexible at the
table. § Georgian Wine House, Beltsville, MD

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Wine & Spirits - December 2020

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