WTN: Three Georgian Wines....(short/boring)

Tried these three Georgian wines over the weekend:
1. Signagi Dry Amber Mtsvane (11-14%; 6 mo. maceration in 4 Qvervi; BlackLambWine/Oakland; www.BlackLambWine.com) Shavi K'Ravi Kahuri/Georgia 2020: Deep golden/some browning/bronze color; quite phenolic/VM/resiny/rather cidery some oxidative/sherry slight floral/fruity rather earthy/bit loamy somewhat mousey/natty/unclean/bretty rather unattractive nose; quite tart/tangy some oxidative some natty/mousey/oxidative/sherry rather phenolic/VM/resiny little fruit fairly tannic/austere/metallc pretty unattractive flavor w/ some tannic bite; long rather austere/tannic/some oxidative some unclean/bretty/natty some phenolic/VM/resiny/cidery little fruit rather hard/austere unattractive finish; a rather hard/austere/harsh/natty VM. $27.50 (KK)
____________
2. PapariVlly Chinuri-Rkatsiteli Amber Wine 3 Qvevri Terraces (12.5%; 3 mo. on skins in qvervi; U; BlackLambWine/Oakland) Shalva Kurdadzee/Kakheti/Georgia 2020: Amber/burnished bronze color; some phenolic/VM/resiny quite stony/flinty/chalky/Rkats bit flinty/metallic slight grapey/fruity interesting nose; fairly tart/tangy rather tannic quite stony/chalky/metallic some VM/phenolic/resiny little fruit rather austere flavor; long quite austere bit tannic some VM/phenolic/resiny quite stony/chalky/bit metallic little fruit finish; not at all oxidative; a rather hard/austere/fairly tannic not very attractive white; much better w/ food than to taste on its own. $31.50 (KK)
____________
3. Akhmeta Dry Red Wine Saperavi Budeshuri (11%-14%; Made in 2 Kvevri; BlackLambWine/Oakland) Shavi K'Ravi Kahuri/Georgia 2021: Very dark/black coler of AlicanteBouschet; intense grapey/earthy/some loamy some fragrant/floral/boysenberry/jammy bit chocolaty bit complex nose; soft very rich/lush rather hard/tannic/rough/coarse intense grapey/boysenberry/blackberry/chocolaty quite rough/coarse/earthy/loamy flavor w/ ample hard/rough tannins; very long quite coarse/earthy/loamy intense grapey/boysenberry rather hard/tannic finish w/ ample coarse tannins; a dead ringer for an AlicanteBouschet; this is how JohnAlban would make Saperavi if he could. $27.49 (KK)
_______________________________
More siggerslop from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Saperavi is a tenturier grape much like AlicanteBouschet. It is a variety native to & mostly found in the Caucasus, but mostly in Georgia. It was brought to the FingerLakes by KonstantinFrank in 1924, where it has enjoyed some success.
I rather liked the wine for its intense grapey character.
_______________
2. Black Lamb is an Oakland based importer specializing in natural & low-intervention wines, mostly from Georgia & Slovenia, but also other places as well, including Clos Saron in Calif. Their portfolio includes mostly producers I have never heard of. As Paul&Martha bring in more of these wine into NM, I'm sure I'll be trying more of their wines. With very low expectations.
Tom

About the producers...

I am not sure about No 1. Shavi k'ravi is a transliteration of the Georgian for "black lamb". There is an outfit of that name based in Tbilisi, which seems to sell bottles of Georgian wine of unspecified origin (they have a facebook page). Maybe the importer is linked to the Tbilisi retailer?

No 2 is Papari Valley, who are relatively well known as Georgian producers go. I have had only good wines from them so far.

No 3 is mentioned here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2STpV99sXPM (sadly only in Georgian, but from what I saw elsewhere Shalva Quurdadze is the company behind the Papari Valley brand)

You also might like to note that "Kakhuri" means "Kakhetian", so is effectively the same as "Kakheti" on a label. Akhmeta is a village in Kakheti. Also Saperavi Budeshuri is not quite the same as Saperavi. From what I've read I can't work out whether it is a specific clone, or a related variety. A winemaker told me it has white flesh, unlike Saperavi proper, but I've been unable to verify that.

Thanks for the notes. Despite what some people think, orange qvevri wines need not be oxidised - the tannins should tend to protect it - so IMO your No 1 is as faulty as any other oxidised wine would be. Doubtless your supplier would disagree

Otherwise the wines sound as if they are as they should be. I quite like the powerful tannins, but not of course in every wine I drink. It's the traditional style from the Kakheti region, but more modern Kakheti wines, and wines from other regions of Georgia, are softer.

Sorry to go on about this - but it is a topic that fascinates me

The date Frank brought Saperavi to the US can't be right since he didn't arrive until 1951. He did experiment with the grape at his Vinifera Wine Cellars but the first commercial production was at McGregor Vineyards.

The date Frank brought Saperavi to the US can't be right since he didn't arrive until 1951. He did experiment with the grape at his Vinifera Wine Cellars but the first commercial production was at McGregor Vineyards.

Yup, Dan... you are correct. I just saw a pic of a Superavi FL vine that had a sign saying "Planted 1926" and jumped to the conclusion that it was KonsantinFrank.
He apparently did bring Saperavi when he came in 1951. The current Frank plantings are apparently propagated from his original plant material.
Tom