{"id":4284,"date":"2023-11-18T18:42:29","date_gmt":"2023-11-18T18:42:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/?p=4284"},"modified":"2023-11-18T19:17:51","modified_gmt":"2023-11-18T19:17:51","slug":"eastern-georgia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/eastern-georgia\/","title":{"rendered":"EASTERN GEORGIA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Georgians are now rediscovering Georgia\u201d, explained Patrick Honnef, CEO and winemaker at Chateau Mukhrani<\/a> in Kartli <\/strong>wine region.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Soviet era all winemaking was focused on Kakheti region to the east, so people associated the warm ripe style of Kakheti with Georgia itself \u2013 but no-one knew the Kartli style\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

Kartli is Georgia\u2019s historic wine region, south and west of capital Tbilisi.\u00a0 Chateau Mukhrani is the pioneering premium winery here, with vineyards replanted in 2003, now with 102 hectares of indigenous Kartli grapes, Chinuri and Goruli Mtsvane (Green Gori) whites and Shavkapito and Tavkveri reds.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOur wines have higher minerality and acidity than in Kakheti\u201d, said Honnef.\u00a0 \u201cWhen we began, people said they were too French or European in style, but in fact they are true to Kartli\u2019s terroir\u201d.<\/p>\n

German-born Honnef was working at Chateau d\u2019Aiguilhe in Bordeaux when Mukhrani\u2019s owners tempted him to Georgia in 2013.\u00a0 \u201cIn Georgia they need help with micro-management, whereas in Bordeaux everything runs smoothly\u201d, he said.\u00a0 He believes Kartli is underrated and his herby zippy Goruli Mtsvane\/Chinuri 2020 and herby spicy Shavkapito 2020, both beautifully made wines, show the restrained elegant style well.<\/p>\n

Further east in Igoeti village in Shilda Kartli is the small artisanal winery Ori Marani<\/a>.\u00a0 An impressive newcomer, established in 2016, by French-born Bastien Warskotte and his Georgian wife Nina Gvantseladze (both pictured below).\u00a0 Warskotte was raised in a Champagne vine grower\u2019s family \u2013 and decided to focus in Georgia on premium sparkling wines and authentic still wines.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe are here to make Georgian sparkling wine \u2013 not Champagne\u201d, said Warskotte.\u00a0 \u201cI love the freedom here and easygoing positive mentality of Georgian people, but like the locals I too am rediscovering Kartli\u2019s terroir\u201d.<\/p>\n

His focus at Ori Marani is creating \u201ccomplex, textured, fresh, drinkable styles of sparkling and still wines\u201d using a mix of traditional Georgian qvevri (underground clay fermenting vessels) and conventional barrels.<\/p>\n

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Warskotte\u2019s fizz is extraordinary, considering he has just six vintages under his belt.\u00a0 Amongst his best is traditional method Laora Rose NV and Giulia 2017 – and my favourite of his still cuvees is white Mariam 2022 and red Nita 2022.\u00a0 He also makes Pet Nat (petillant naturel) which he describes as \u2018easy to make, but difficult to manage\u2019.<\/p>\n

In Georgia\u2019s most famous region, Kakheti <\/strong>(which has 44,000 out of the country\u2019s 55,000 hectares of vines), the focus is very different.\u00a0 Here in the warm east the grapes favoured by Soviets were the versatile Rkatsiteli white, known as Chardonnay of the Caucasus, and earthy spicy Saperavi red which still dominate vineyard plantings today.<\/p>\n

Saperavi styles vary widely within Kakheti.\u00a0 Some are matured in both qvevri and large oak to add complexity and supple tannins, others are given lengthy two years in French oak barriques resulting in a more European style.\u00a0\u00a0 Ripe dense fruity Saperavi found in Mukuzani PDO contrasts with drier styles from Napareuli PDO in Kakheti\u2019s north west \u2013 and with the higher acidity and bright fruit character found in new PDO Khashmi, 40 km east of Tbilisi.<\/p>\n

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Kakhetian wineries are also reviving and experimenting with indigenous grapes like Kisi, Khikhvi (pictured in vineyard above) and Chitistvala whites (although the extremely wet 2023 harvest produced few healthy white grapes) – and mid-weight Jani and spicy peppery Adanasuri and Alexandrouli reds.<\/p>\n

One of the most impressive new producers set up in 2017 in Kakheti is Tiko Estate<\/a>, run by Levan Chychynadze (below) and his Argentinian wife Maria.\u00a0 His traditionally made qvevri-aged Orange Kisi, Rkatsiteli and Khikhvi – and his soft rounded elegant \u2018Wild Shavkapito\u2019 and dense Saperavi are excellent examples from these grapes.<\/p>\n

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Giorgi Dakishvili (pictured below), one of the most celebrated Kakhetian winemakers of qvevri-style wines, acts as consultant for numerous wineries \u2013 but he has his own winery too.\u00a0 For his Orgo Teleda<\/a> wines he uses only old vines and the range is exceptionally good.<\/p>\n

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For natural wine lovers, my favourite is Casreli<\/a> winery in Vachnadziani village set up in 2014 by five doctors, run by the charmingly erudite and talented Dr Misha Dolidze (pictured below).\u00a0 His organic rare Chitistvala 2021, Kisi 2020 and dark cherry-fruited Saperavi 2020 are amongst his best \u2013 showing the distinctively lush ripe style of Kakheti region.<\/p>\n

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SPARKLING <\/u><\/p>\n

Kartli: LAORA ROSE NV Ori Marani <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a334 Peckham Cellars; 266 Wines<\/em><\/p>\n

Mix of qvevri and oak fermentation for the base wine; delightful pink with appley flavours, a zesty traditional method fizz with rich intensity and good length.<\/p>\n

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WHITE <\/u><\/p>\n

Kartli: GORULI MTSVANE\/CHINURI 2021 Chateau Mukhrani<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a321.99 Georgian Wine Guild;\u00a0 \u00a322 Wine of Georgia<\/em><\/p>\n

Unoaked fresh zippy white with herby lemony zest, pear skin flavours and lingering finish.<\/p>\n

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AMBER<\/u><\/p>\n

Kakheti: RKATSITELI 2019 Archil\u2019s Wine <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a319.80 Georgian Wine Guild; Wine of Georgia<\/em><\/p>\n

Peach, apricot and herby notes, quite textural, saline edge to finish from Tsinandali subzone made by Archil Utiashvili.<\/p>\n

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Kakheti: ORANGE KISI 2022 Tiko Estate<\/a> ***STAR BUY***<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a322.95 Butlers Wine Cellar; Dorset Wine; Hedonism; Astrum Wine Cellars<\/em><\/p>\n

Elegant, apricot scented, cinnamon and honey flavours from one of my favourite Georgian grapes, Kisi.<\/p>\n

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Kakheti: CHITISTVALA 2021 Casreli<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a318.99 Georgian Wine Society<\/em><\/p>\n

Organic Chitistvala, Kisi and Rkatsiteli blend; dried fruits, smoky, zesty citrus fruits, firm on the palate from lengthy skin contact in qvevri.<\/p>\n

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RED<\/u><\/p>\n

Kartli: SHAVKAPITO 2020 Chateau Mukhrani <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a321.99 Georgian Wine Guild; Wine of Georgia<\/em><\/p>\n

Cranberry and cherry fruits, herby undertones, soft smooth rounded texture \u2013 shows potential for Shavkapito grape.<\/p>\n

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Kakheti: SAPERAVI 2021 Orgo Teleda<\/a>\u00a0 ***STAR BUY***<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a324 L\u2019Art du Vin; St Andrews Wine<\/em><\/p>\n

From the \u2018master of qvevri\u2019, Giorgi Dakishvili\u2019s superb ripe dark fruited, dense, savoury example is one of the best Georgian Saperavis.<\/p>\n

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By Rose Murray Brown MW\u00a0 \u00a0Published in The Scotsman 18 November 2023<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Join Rose\u2019s Up & Coming Producers around the World Tasting on Friday 15 March www.rosemurraybrown.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1929,1965,1968,1970],"tags":[2025,2017,2020,2021,2023,2022,2024,2002],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4284"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4284"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4311,"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4284\/revisions\/4311"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosemurraybrown.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}