Georgia: New trends and ancient traditions
Georgia’s wine scene is an exciting mix of ancient winemaking traditions and modern ideas. Here are my picks of the Georgian wine styles you should try. By Ellie Scott
TRADITIONAL METHOD SPARKLING
Mildiani Family Winery 2015 Classic Method Brut Reserve
100% Mtsvane
Founded by four brothers in 1991, Mildiani Family Winery is a quality producer of both still and sparkling wines. Their Classic Method Brut Reserve 2015 is made from the Kakhetian grape Mtsvane and has had time in French oak as well as 48 months on the lees. Toasty brioche notes combine with a creamy peachiness to make a rich and elegant wine. Follow @mildiani_family_winery.
Available from GInvino, @ginvino
PÉT NAT
Mtsvane Estate 2022
80% Chinuri 20% Goruli Mtsvane
A newer addition to the Mtsvane Estate portfolio, this blend uses a majority of Chinuri, an indigenous variety traditionally used to make sparkling wines in Kartli. This modern update is made in the méthode ancestrale with disgorgement and has a delicate mousse with notes of melon skin, peach and tropical fruits. Follow @mtsvaneestate.
AMBER
Vazisubani Estate Khikhvi Qvevri Amber 2019
100% Khikhvi
Called orange in many other countries, amber wine is synonymous with Georgia. Amber is used to designate wines made from white grapes in qvevri, where skins and stems as well as the pressed juice are added to clay pots buried underground. Additional flavours, texture and tannins are extracted from the time on skins in qvevri. This dry Khikhvi from Vazisubani Estate in Kakheti is the beautiful amber colour of its name, showing savoury herbal notes alongside caramel, ginger and dried mango with well-balanced tannins. Follow @vazisubani_estate
Available from Gvino, @gvinouk
SAPERAVI
Telavi Old Cellar Archil’s Wine Saperavi 2018
100% Saperavi
Made in the heart of Kakheti by boutique producer Archil Utiashvili, this is a great example of what old vines and careful winemaking can produce with the queen of Georgian varieties, Saperavi. Saperavi is somewhat of a chameleon grape, taking on characteristics from terroir and winemaking and can range from bright, red fruited examples to rich, dark fruited and highly tannic styles. Suiting both oak and qvevri ageing well, many can age for decades. This limited production from Telavi Old Cellar is from 50-year-old vines, aged in French oak and is rich with generous plums and blackberries.
Available from Georgian Wine Guild, @georgianwineguilduk
EUROPEAN STYLE WHITE
Tiko Estate – Rkatsiteli 2021
100% Rkatsiteli
Perhaps contrary to perception, qvevri wines make up only around 10% of Georgian wines, and not all Georgian whites are made with skin contact. In the 18th century, poet and politician Alexander Chavchavadze was one of the pioneers in bringing European winemaking techniques back to Georgia. Tiko Estate is a family venture by brothers Levan and Georgi Chychynadze who also have decades of international winemaking experience. Their Rkatsiteli has had whole bunch fermentation in both old oak barrels and stainless steel, with bâtonnage giving an almost Burgundian feel, with elegant white peach, citrus and vanilla.
Available from Astrum, @astrumwines
RARE VARIETIES
During the Soviet period, the number of varieties permitted for wine production was reduced to just sixteen. In recent years Georgian winemakers have revelled in the freedom to plant and experiment with other previously prized grapes amongst their 525 indigenous varieties. These rarer grapes are few and far between on the UK market currently, but as Georgian exports grow there is no reason more unusual names can’t sit beside Rkatsiteli and Saperavi on our shelves.
Shavkapito was a rare grape which has come back into fashion after Chateau Mukhrani produced a popular oaked, plummy example. Guramishvili Marani’s Saguramo Dry Red blends Shavkapito with the equally unusual Buza, Danakharuli and Tavkveri; Labara’s excellent Circum Solem range includes a lighter, red berry-filled Aladasturi, as well as a full-bodied Otskhanuri Sapere; and Peradze make both a red and a rosé from cherry-packed Tavkveri.