Nose
Ample presence of dark black fruits aromas.
Palate
A full-bodied wine with plenty of black fruit. Dried plum, blackberry, black cherry, chocolate and black pepper dominate. Chocolatey lengthy finish that balances with nice acidity with mouth-filling tannins.
Growing Conditions
The 15 years old Saperavi vineyard is located in Akura (next to the Mukuzani micro zone), Kakheti, Georgia, is only 1 hectare in size and sits 620masl. The soil is medium clay. The vineyard is farmed using sustainable vine growing practices.
Harvest
The 2020 season delivered a high-quality vintage for the winery. A cold and snowy February/March delayed field pruning, resulting in bud burst in early May. A warm May accelerated canopy growth. A hot summer followed by warm September accompanied by rain gave the fruit several extra weeks to hang and promote final fruit maturity. Higher sugars were balanced against acid levels. Harvest took place on October 10th. The grapes were harvested manually, carefully hand-picked in the cool, early morning hours. Fruit was gathered in special containers. With a max. load of 10kg. Grapes were promptly delivered to the winery for immediate processing. The excellent weather conditions helped produce wines balanced with a rich body and natural acidity.
Bottling
Late June 2021.
Winemaking
Once the grapes were delivered to the winery, they were sorted and separated from stems. The grapes were pressed in tanks and allowed to settle. Fermentation was held in in vats, on wild yeast with skin contact at 25C degrees for 21 days, with temperature increased to 28C degrees during the last 3 days.. After the completion of alcoholic fermentation, malolactic fermentation was held in in vats to add a velvety texture to the wine. The wine was transferred four times - the first after the completion of alcoholic fermentation when the skins were removed; the second time after two weeks in order to remove the heavy sediment; the third time in February; and the fourth time in May for wine homogeneity. This gave the wine an elegance with balanced natural acidity and velvet structure.
Aging
Ageing took place in vats until bottling taking place at the end of June where further ageing in bottle will continue.
Appearance
Dark ruby red with purplish tints.
Food Pairing
Goes perfectly with game meat, beef, fried poultry, fresh cheese. As the wine is natural and unfiltered decanting required. Best Served at 15-18 C. Can be drunk young or will benefit of further ageing.