Wine Wednesday: Purity in Chinuri
Of all the wine producers in Georgia that I know and love, Beka Gotsadze of Gotsa Family Wines represents the future of Georgian natural wine. He makes multiple wines from different varieties, has low yielding vineyards at higher than average elevation, has Biodynamic certification, makes an ancestral sparkling wine AND is not afraid of a little Flor happily growing on his wine.
He thinks about wine much like the architect that he is. Always building o sturdy foundations. And, a rarity, he saves bottling for later. Most Georgian winemakers bottle wines when they open the qvevri and then put them on the market. It’s why you can see 2016s already in the market. No Beka. He allows his wines to mature before selling them.
I will write more on Beka in another post. His 2015 Chinuri is a marvel. Indeed, it is the best qvevri wine I tasted from the 2015 vintage. Now, while I am a huge fan of the funky, heavy skin contact wines from Kakheti, the Chinuri, still amber and made “natural” in qvevri is by far one of the purest expressions of Chinuri I have had. It is full of complexity on the nose and in the palate and it is fun. Full of citrus peel, sage, hints of nutty aromas, wet alpine stones, green plums. With each swirl it becomes so much more lively. The taste is magic. Lots of citrus and mineral toy. It recalls the sound of pure church bells, racy acidity, well balanced alcohol and just a hint of tannins. A wine for food. Actually it reminds me of some of the best Petite Arvines from Switzerland.
We organise wine tasting dinners with the Gotsa Family Winery. His wife Nina is a fabulous host and it is always the highlight of my visits. Send us an email! Info@tastegeorgia.co