If you’ve never heard of Saperavi, then I’m possibly not alone! No, it’s not a Spanish swear word, but rather a grape native to Georgia (as in the former Soviet Bloc State) and as old as the hills it grows in!
I’d never tried one until I recently happened upon the Massena Saperavi (2010) at a Purple Palate tasting. It’s a wine with a prominent licorice and French oak nose that is so deep a shade of purple that it’s almost black. The fruit is full and ripe but silkily decadent in the mouth (in a Pascall Jelly Jube kind of way). There’s a ton of tannins at the back which will no doubt settle down with time, but overall, it’s pretty well balanced for an “experimental” wine.
It’s “interesting”, but in a very enjoyable way as it sports all the bold jammy fruit of a Barossa Shiraz, but the dry tannic finale of a Coonawarra Cab Sauv.
It’s well worth looking for at less than 25 bucks a bottle!
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