Community Tasting Notes 3

• forceberry wrote: 92 points

  June 8, 2022 - A very unique wine, made with grape varieties growing wild in Meskheti - a region on the southern edge of Georgia, bordering Turkey. Meskheti was under Ottoman rule from the 17th century until the early 1800's; in this period the Ottomans raided the villages and destroyed the vineyards, so there has been no winemaking or viticulture in Meskheti for some 400 years. Giorgi Natenadze - a Meskheti native - has been scouting for old grapevines growing in the nature and old, abandoned villages and has thus far found at least 40 different, unique varieties, of which only 26 have been identified. This Meskhuri ("Meskhetian") is a blend of three different varieties found growing wild among the trees in the mountains of Meskheti: Meskhuri Sapere ("Meskheti's colorlful"), Meskhuri Kharistvala ("Meshkheti's bull's eye) and Tskhenis Dzudzu Tetri ("Horse's breast white"). The massively thick, serpentine Tskhenis Dzudzu vines are estimated to be 200-400 years old, possibly predating the Ottoman rule. The grapes are harvested and vinified together, fermenting and macerating for 6 months in earthenware kvevris, after which the wines are racked off the skins, blended together and aged in stainless steel tanks. Bottle #1835 of total 2500 bottles. 11,5% alcohol.
  
  Luminous and moderately translucent raspberry red color with a youthful purplish hue. The distinctive nose is very sweet and youthful - almost primary - with a sort of wild grape character, not quite foxy, but having that sort of undomesticated, sweet yet slightly floral and slightly green overall aroma. All in all the nose feels clean and vibrant with aromas of raspberry juice, some ripe blueberries, a little bit of boysenberry, light grapey tones, green hints of pine needle and tarragon, a touch of strawberry candy and a whiff of ink. The wine is dry, clean and crunchy on the palate with a light-to-medium body with fresh flavors of ripe red forest berries and tart lingonberries, some crunchy crowberries, a little bit of sappy herbal character, light bilberry nuances, a hint of sour cherry bitterness and a touch of pine needle. The overall feel is quite firm and sinewy, thanks to the high acidity and moderately grippy tannins that slowly pile on the gums. The finish is dry, crunchy and moderately grippy with acid-driven flavors of lingonberries, some cranberries, a little bit of sappy herbal character, light grapey nuances, crunchy hints of crowberries and chokeberries and a touch of pine needles.
  
  A clean, quite light and wonderfully characterful Georgian red that is quite unlike any wine I've had before, at least aromatically. There's definitely some wild, untamed character here, vaguely reminiscent of some wines made with non-vinifera grape varieties, but still coming across as quite classic wine, not a rustic or weird, foxy oddball (I don't even know if Meskhuri Sapere, Meskhuri Kharistvala and Tskhenis Dzudzu are Vitis vinifera - although most likely they are, since Georgia-Armenia is the birthplace of vinifera and you really don't see any other species there). What's most striking here, though, is that this wine is a minimum interventionist wine, made with non-cultivated (ie. free-growing) grapes, vinified in a traditional Georgian kvevri and yet it tastes like a contemporary red wine! When I served the wine blind, people's guesses ranged from Jura and Savoie to Italian lesser-known grape varieties and wines of the Balkans. This is definitely a unique wine, but wonderfully fresh, harmonious and enjoyably structured at that. Priced according to its quality at 36€.

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• R2-D2 wrote: 91 points

  April 13, 2021 - Elements of Wine 2021 - My Class at GnG; 2/7/2021-12/31/2021 (Grapes & Grains, Temecula, CA): Blend of Meskhuri Sapere, Meskhuri kharistvala (Bull’s eye red), Tskhenis dzudzu tetri (Horse breast white, 400 years old)
  
  Almost extinct grape varieties grown at well over 1,000 metres of altitude, painstakingly foraged from wild vines up to 400 years old that grow in volcanic soil. It’s made in a time-honoured fashion, in qvevris (clay amphorae) with around 4-6 months of skin contact.
  
  Giorgi Natenadze lives in Samtskhe-Javakheti, historically known as Meskheti, the southerly part of Georgia that borders Turkey. An important wine region in antiquity, Meskheti was ransacked by invading Ottomans (who destroyed all its vineyards about 400 years ago) and then throttled by the Soviet Union which preferred to concentrate viticulture in easterly Kakheti. Natenadze decided in 2009 to try to reclaim some of the area’s heritage.
  
  As he puts it, “I have spent much of the past decade traipsing through mountain forests in search of ancient vines growing the way nature intended — up trees. I have found some vines that are more than 100 years old and one that I reckon is more than 400 years old. I have uncovered 40 rare grape varieties in the forests in the south of the country, near the border with Turkey, but I have only been able to identify 24 of them so far. Each year I make a different wine from these ancient varieties at Natenadze’s Wine Cellar”.
  
  Texturally it’s very light and silky, with scents of wildflowers and green plums. The flavours are more herbaceous and grassy, a little reminiscent of wild tarragon or sage.

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• virginiacross Likes this wine: 92 points

  February 12, 2021 - A very elegant, structured wine with a fascinating history. The winemaker, Giorgi Natendaze, forages and revives wild grapes from his home region of Meskheti, Georgia. This wine includes grapes from a 450+ year old wild vine. I was expecting something much funkier, and was very happily surprised to taste this. It's entirely different than any wine I've tried, but it's not rustic or rough around the edges.
  
  Something very fresh and inviting on the palate--mint? Fresh spring flowers, nectarine, cranberry juice, sage. Some discernible minerality. Very lively! Acid is on the high side, but definitely not unwelcome. Would 100% recommending seeking out this wine.

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Wine Definition

• Vintage 2018
• Type Red
• Producer Giorgi Natenadze
• Varietal Red Blend
• Designation Meskhuri
• Vineyard n/a
• Country Georgia
• Region Samtskhe-Javakheti
• SubRegion Meskheti
• Appellation n/a

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• Pending Delivery 0 (0%)
• In Cellars 14 (50%)
• Consumed 14 (50%)

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