2023 Château Mere Saperavi, Alazani River Valley, Georgia (750ml)

RED CELLAR TRIO WINE CLUB SELECTION

Founded in 2005 in Kakheti, Georgia by George Piridashvili, Winiveria began as a small marani (winemaking cellar) and grew into a major winery complex and resort at Château Mere. The estate produces wines from indigenous Georgian grapes using both traditional Kakhetian qvevri techniques and classic European winemaking. Château Mere is their signature line that was established in 2014, to promote and proliferate the appreciation of fine wines from Georgia. Saperavi is Georgia’s flagship red grape and one of the world’s rare teinturier varieties, meaning its pulp is also deeply colored, not just its skins. That gives the wines their inky color, firm tannins, bright acidity, and flavors of black fruit, spice, and often a savory, age-worthy depth. Its significance goes beyond flavor: Saperavi is central to Georgia’s ancient winemaking identity, and it has become the country’s most important red export grape.

100% Saperavi, the grapes for this bottling were sourced from vineyards in Kakheti’s Signaghi region (at 400-500 m) overlooking the Alazani River Valley, grown on black carbonate soils under minimal-intervention viticulture. The grapes were fermented on the skins in qvevri for one month and aged for a full year before release. Deep ruby-purple in color, it offers aromas of black cherry, plum, blackberry, dried herbs, and baking spice, with a subtle earthy, flinty edge. The palate is medium-bodied, marked by firm tannins, lively acidity, and concentrated dark fruit layered with savory spice and a touch of mineral grip, leading to a dry, structured finish with lasting notes of dark berries and earth.