Kakhuri Gvinis Marani, Qvevri Cabernet-Saperavi, Kakheti, Georgia 2019

For the uninitiated, Saperavi can be a fearsome challenge: it’s a grape variety prolific in everything, and young versions can have an almost thunderous force. Our judges loved this wine not least because the blend of Saperavi with Cabernet seemed signally successful and approachable, bringing out the best of both varieties without denaturing either. The qvevri fermentation, too, has left the wine vivid and almost trembling with youthful sweetness, yet behind that sweetness is ample freshness built on cool, woodland acidity and gently extracted though ample tannins. There is, too, a little Caucasian, silk-road spice haunting the fruits: complex and rewarding Georgian wine in the grand tradition.

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