Nose
Fruity aromas, with domination of plum and cherry, plum and berry notes prevail along with dry fruit aromas.
Palate
High level of alcohol , strong extract, acidity and soft tannins create this well balanced wine.
Growing Conditions
‘Papari Valley’ vineyards and winery are located at the Papris Mindvrebi (Papari Field) in the village of Akhasheni, district Gurjaani, Kakheti. There are different appellation zones across this area which include Akhasheni, Mukuzani and Gurjaani. The territory of the Papari valley includes the Civ-Gombori ridge from the side of the forest. It includes the north-east, south-west, and east direction sloping plateaus and has a wave-like surface. Because of this, it is called Papari Valley (Papari in Georgian means the hair of the horse). The vineyard is in the middle of the Papari Field, 450-500 meters above sea level. There is nice exposure and with moderate conditions, this micro zone benefits from unique soil which consists of 6 layers on 4 metres where alluvial-carbon components prevail. Some of the purchased vineyards were created during the Soviet era, where the main interest was quantity not quality. Strong chemical based fertilisers were used to achieve this, making it almost impossible to change the nature of some plants within a reasonable time period. Therefore, Papari Valley Winery made a decision regarding the renewal of vineyards – they left only strong and healthy plants whilst the main part of the vineyard was replaced with new, specially chosen rootstocks. They take care of the new vineyards according to the Bio (natural wine) technique, working closely with the older vines to slowly convert them to Bio. The vineyards are now classified as ‘organic’, having been managed organically under the Green Caucasus standard (CAUCASCERT Ltd is the independent IAF MLA signatory accreditation body DAkkS - Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle, in Germany) since December 2014. 2018 was the first official ‘organic’ vintage.
Harvest
The overall area of the vineyards is 9.3 hectares, from that 85% Saperavi and 15% Rkatsiteli. The age of vineyards is 12 and 25 years.
Bottling
Grapes are not pressed but a special device is used to separated the stems from the grapes. This presses grapes just a little bit and later the decision is made of how much of the stems should we add to qvevri (after the grapes and juice are already in the qvevri). These wines do not contain chemical additives (except for the small dose of the sulphur). Fermentation happens with natural yeasts, without artificial interference in the process.
Winemaking
The philosophy of farming and making wines is to preserve the natural terroir characteristics of the Papari Valley; not intervene into the nature but follow it. For that, vineyards and wine are constantly managed under Bio (organic, natural) techniques. Marani/Cellar of Papari Valley is situated in the vineyards, in the Papari Field. Harvest, creation of wine, ageing and bottling happens in the same place. Innovative multi-terrace system of qvevris is used in the cellar for the creation of wines. This is the first time in Georgia that a 3 terrace qvevri system has been used for the creation of wines: I and II terrace are situated in Marani, but the III terrace is situated in the basement. I terrace is used for fermentation, II and III terraces are used for ageing of wine and its transfer. Transfer of wine from one terrace to another happens by gravity force. This method gives young wine a chance to develop in the natural environment and prevent it from damage on a microbiological level. Overall volume of Qvevri is 29,500 litres (volume of each varies from 1000 to 1500l), spread out over 21 qvevris.
Aging
Wine is made from the Saperavi grape variety with a technique of multi-terrace system of Terracotta Qvevris. . This wines was finally aged in Qvevri #8.
Appearance
Red, with dark intensity, black notes.
Food Pairing
Meat, game, juicy ribs, grilled or bbq vegetables Storage temperature 5-16C Best served at 16-18 C