Vineyards: Vineyards planted in 70 and 80s in the famous Alazani Valley – one of the oldest wine regions. The vines are treated only manually. Crop size is controlled.
Soils: Loamy at 470 – 520 AMSL.
Yield: max 10 tons /ha, equivalent to 65 to 70 HL/ha.
Method of Harvest : Manual selective picking to ensure grape highest quality.
Vinification : Depending on the year, grapes may be or may not be de-stemmed. Partial de-stemming may also be applied. Crushing is mostly avoided as well as we do not chill the must. Instead, we pick grapes very early and try to start wild fermentation at the natural temperature. The size of our QVEVRIs are from 900 to 2 500 L. This allows us to conduct wild fermentation at the soil temperature without peaking it too high, thus retaining the true characters of the year. Naturally started fermentation stops when wine is dry. From here we taste all the QVEVRIs and we fill up each individual ones from the selected ones leaving them full for the longest known maceration in the world – 5 to 6 months. Just before the bud burst in the nature, towards the spring on-set macerated wines are taken of their bottoms, which contain: Yeast lees, skins, seeds and sometimes stems. Wines are let to breathe, i.e. left in contact with air. Then, transferred back to QVEVRI or other containers for further clarification and style formation. Once the style has been reached, they go through preparations for bottling. Bottling is conducted under the highest standards. Wine is bottle-aged before the release for 5 to 6 months.
The colour is amber with golden hues. Aroma of roasted nuts and dry fruit. Very well-expressed, rich and harmonious body with strong, but pleasant tannic structure. Dried apricots with back tones of mature yellow plums. Taste is dry and long. This wine has a true privileged taste and is from all of the tradition from the place regarded as the ‘Birthplace of Wine’ – Georgia.
Perfectly pairs with light meat like turkey and pork, an array of seafood and Greek and French salads. It is an outstanding wine with spicy curries or Asian hot-sour flavors as well as varieties of Pizza.
Best enjoyed at about 8 – 10°C
Alcohol 13%
Best enjoyed at about 6 to 8°C.
Alcohol: 12.5%
Winemaker
Lado Uzunashvili