A natural amber-style wine made in traditional Georgian Kvevri from the native grape Rkatsiteli. Long skin contact gives it a straw-yellow color with green-gold reflections and complex aromas led by hay and straw, followed by yellow fruit, citrus peel, herbs, and walnut notes with a fresh, saline mineral character. Fresh, silky, and long on the finish.
Rkatsiteli
Tasting Notes
Straw yellow with green-gold reflections. Hay, straw, yellow-fleshed fruit, citron, elderflower, walnut husk, medicinal herbs, wild fennel, and mineral puffs with almost marine echoes. The palate is enveloping and silky, with a graceful structure and long, fresh, juicy mineral persistence.
Food Recommendations
Beef steak, roasted poultry, aged cheeses, grilled fish, and dishes with herbs or dried fruit.
Climate & Terroir
Climate
Characterized by moderate humidity, hot summer and moderately cold winters. The average annual sum of precipitation is 845 mm, 644 mm in the vegetation period. Summer drought is an issue sometimes.
Terroir
Kisiskhevi River left bank, 500m elevation, soil is stony alluvium, brownish grey, with sandy loam and calcium content (PH 8.5). Gentle slope (3%), exposure to south-east.
Production
Viticulture
Trellis, vertical shoot positioning, grown mainly on bilateral cordons or arched canes. One year old seedlings planted in spring of 2015. Density: 3800 saplings/hectare.
Organic Farming
Winter hand pruning; limited green pruning; no-till gardening (unless organic fertilisers applied); copper-based contact fungicides and colloidal sulphur; no herbicides; irrigation only in case of severe drought; manual harvest.
Yields
Approximately 25 - 30 hectolitres (wine) per hectare.