Vineyards: Vineyards were planted in mid 70s in the Mukuzani it area – the best of Georgian wine regions and possibly one of the oldest as well as best wine growing regions in the world. The vines are treated only manually.
Soils: Sandy stony clay at 560 – 600 AMSL.
Yield: max 6-7 tons/ha, equivalent to 45 to 50 HL/ha.
Harvest: Harvest day is decided when the grapes are fully responding to the final wine style requirements. We pick the grapes only manually to ensure the 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 6 to 8 months.
Phenomenon of harmony of blended soil and wine. Palate is tasteful and exuberant bearing Mulberry and Cherry fruit flavours. Rich, velvety tannin sensation enhances the wine structure. Long lasting taste impresses for its lavishness. Pronounced varietal power and excellently expressed vinosity – a quite common phenomenon to Georgian wines.
Both Red meat and game fried, grilled and stewed with spices. Excellent with mature cheese of different styles.
Best enjoyed at about 14 – 15°C
Alcohol 14%
Winemaker
Lado Uzunashvili