The Morning Claret

Simon J Woolf & Friends on Wild and Wonderful Wines

Year: 2020

Iago Bitarishvili - Photo (C) Simon Kolezik All Rights Reserved
14 minute read

Georgia’s new age of amber

Simon takes a look at the extraordinary expansion in traditional qvevri winemaking in Georgia. What does it mean for quality, and how do you know what’s really in the bottle? With some notes about the OIV’s new skin macerated white wine category, which should help Georgia to classify its output more precisely.

Gratavinum – Silvestris 2018

Super ripe, with some meaty, animal notes and a hint of iodine and iron. Big and concentrated, but with Carignan’s trademark sour twang and funkiness. A bit smoky and dusty as it opens up to the finish, but overall a Read more

Douloufakis – Vidiano Amphora 2019

Noticeably oxidative on the nose, with caramel and nuts. Rather flat and featureless on the palate, with some cooked fruits. There’s some sweet apricot, apple tart and a slight saltiness on the finish. But overall this lacks excitement, and the Read more

Vignobles Pueyo – Hellébore 2018

From an organic certified winery based in St. Emilion (Their most well-known brand is La Fleur Garderose), this Semillon fermented and aged for 10 months in amphora. Still a little closed on the nose, it needs oxygen and then the Read more

Vignobles Pueyo – Hellébore 2017

Ripe and inviting on the nose, full of quince, ripe pear and a hint of red grapefuit. The tannins are soft and really nicely resolved (in comparison to the much more grippy 2018), and the fruit just lasts and lasts Read more

Dominio Romano – Dominio Romano 2015

Smoky and dark fruited on the nose, this has the same joyful red fruit as its little brother the Camino – but here there’s a lot more structure, more “seriousness”, plus wonderful acidity and mineral energy. That feeling of sappy Read more

Dominio Romano – Camino Romano 2018

I started salivating already with the nose of this wine – it’s slightly bloody, with cranberry and a slight toastiness. Super juicy strawberry fruit, with a smoky, earthy hint, gorgeous acidity and bright red berry fruit, topped off with sappy, Read more