When I was browsing around the offer at 8,000 Vintages, I stumbled across this wine which is a Pinot Noir. For those who aren’t up on your Saperavi, Khikhvi, and Rkatsiteli, Pinot Noir is not a native grape to the region but this fellow named, Vaso Ramazashvili has decided to make a wine from it.
Largely, you don’t find very many wines made from French varieties in Georgia and that’s not a bad thing as most taste like they’re really out of place. It’s not like Willamette Valley in Oregon or Central Otago in New Zealand where there were no grapes before and so planting Pinot Noir works very well. In the case of Georgia, there are some 500 native grapes and they’re probably the best suited to the terrain as well as the kvevri method of production.
This particular wines doesn’t appear to be made via kvevri at all, but probably stainless steel tank, which can work fine for this grape when the need arises. As there was nothing other than a front label, I couldn’t discern much more about the wine and the sommelier, Brian at Azarpesha in Tbilisi with whom I split this bottle didn’t know anything about it either.
Does it Work? Sure
At a breezy 11% alcohol, it gives you light red fruit, black pepper, and crunchy red currant. Crisp and bright in the mouth with a medium finish, it’s an interesting, well-made wine. In comparing it to Burgundy, it comes across more like a good, AOC Burgundy than anything more particular however.
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2 responses to “WTF? Vaso Ramazashvili – Pinot Noir 2015”
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Searched the guy. It seems he has Tavkveri too. Gotta try. Thanks.
And Chinuri as well but with no indication as to where his cellar is. My guess is somewhere central in Kartli given the grapes, but you never know and he’s not in the GNWA register as far as I know.