This is made from the Saperavi grape in the country of Georgia.  It is, however, fermented and raised in new French oak for 12 months.  Inky purple in color, but a bit flat.  Opaque.  The nose is nice with a "Bordeaux-ish quality.  Earthy, musty, cigar box along with black raspberries and char.  Medium bodied.  Strong acidity.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, black cherries, black raspberries with a slight char.  Moderate finish.  This seems to be at peak and should drink well for the next five to eight years.  It works better with food.  Chakapuli, a traditional Georgian herbed lamb stew fro

This is a blend of 60% Saperavi and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon from Georgia.  The wine was fermented in Kvevri (Amphorae) and aged for 12 months in French Oak.  Purple in color with some ruby swirls.  The nose has black raspberries, black cherries, baking spices and slight char.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, black raspberries, baking spices, slight vanilla.  Some complexity.  Nice finish.  The oak is a bit obtrusive on this but it may yet integrate with further cellaring.  Probably best to hold for a few years and drink over the next five to eight.  Nice on its own, bu

I am not a believer in "natural wines" as it seems to judge a wine on its merits and not on some nebulous term.  That said, most of the ones I have tried seem like chemistry experiments gone wrong.  This is the exception and one of the best "natural wines" I have tasted.  It is made from the Saperavi grape in Georgia.  It is made with no fining, filtering or addition of sulfites.  That said, it is also made in a more "modern" style for Georgian wines, that is fermented for 8 days in temperature controlled vats, pressed off the solids leaving no residual sugar and finished in stainless steel

This is from the country of Georgia, and is a blend of 40% of Rkatsiteli (rah-kah-see-tell-y), 40% Kisi (key-see), and 20% Khikhvi (khee-kh-vee) grapes.  It is fermented in Kvevri (Amphorae) where it is allowed to macerate for six months.  The winery provides itself on being a "natural" wine meaning unfiltered and no use of sulfites.  At a recent tasting it proved to be a bit controversial and I liked it decidedly more than most of the group.  Golden in color with orange hues.  There is a lot of VA (volatile acidity) on the nose that was the chief problem others had.  A little can be nice a

At a recent tasting of Georgian wine, this was the consensus Wine of the Night.  Interesting to tasted a wine at age 7 like this as it was fresh and vibrant.   It is 100% Mtsvane grapes made in Kakheti, Georgia.  The wine is fermented in Kvevri (Amphorae) where it is allowed to macerate for six months.  Golden with some copper hues in color, clear and bright.  The nose is big and enticing with honey, golden raisins, cantaloupe, and slight floral notes.  Medium bodied.  Strong acidity.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, there are lots of apples, some apple cider, slight nuttiness and pineapple. 

The second label of the Orgo Winery.  This is a blend of 50% Rkatsiteli and 50% Mtsvane grapes from the country of Georgia.  The wine is made in Kvevri (Amphorae) but only stays for about a month during which it ferments on the skins with the stems and pips.  The result is an "Amber" or "orange" wine.  Very interesting.  Deep golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is very nice but its hard to come up with terminology to describe.  There is a floral quality with a perfumed fragrance note.  Perhaps some cantaloupe.  Medium bodied although viscous at 13% abv.  Medium tannins.  On the pal

This was an interesting Pinot Noir from northern California.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, sour cherries, smoke, anise and slight menthol.  Very nice.  On the palate, this has a big, but very nice texture.  Viscous with good acidity.  On the palate, this drinks well with sour cherries, anise, sandalwood and just the faint whiff of char.  Very tasty.  A long finish.  Those who like bigger, fresh (clean) Pinot Noir should love this wine.  Drink over the next ten years.  It would go well with Salmon but also roasted chicken.

This is a big, California Chardonnay in the best sense.  It is a blend of four different vineyards of Chardonnay.  Silvery gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is big and enticing with Lemons, vanilla and nutmeg.  Full bodied with a creamy texture.  Good acidity.  Slightly oily.  On the palate, this has lemons, slight lemon peel and an interesting note of mint on the finish.  It is deep with tight complexity that unwinds in the glass.  A very long finish.  This may improve over the next year or two but either way should make great drinking for the next ten years.  It drinks great on i

An amazing value in sparkling wine!  This is a blend of 75% Pinot Noir and25% Chardonnay certified organic grapes from Argentina.  The Charmat method allows for the fermentation in stainless steel tanks to capture the carbonation.  Salmon pin/orange in color, clear and bright.  Lots of smaller bubbles.  The nose is very nice with strawberries, yeast (at the proofing stage), and minerals.  On the palate, this is crisp with light tannins.  Notes of fuji apples, strawberries and minerality.  Nice acidity.

This is another quality value from this Argentinian producer.  Made from a blend of organic grapes, it is 75% Chardonnay and 25% Pinot Noir.  The Charmat method is utilized meaning that the bubbles are trapped in stainless steel tanks versus in the bottle.  While that does not have the tradition or "romance" of the Methode Champenois, to does allow for high quality wines at much more reasonable pricing.  And, this bottle is proof.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The wine is frothy on opening with lots of small bubbles.  On the nose, there are lemons, lemon peel, and minerals.  Good aci