Wine Review - 2011 Tblivino Rkatsiteli: Light And Crisp White From The Republic Of Georgia

We purchased this wine a while ago at a Cristall Wine Merchants where they were selling this and a Saperavi (Georgian Red) where we had previously done a quick Blog post about (see that here).  Coincidently, the Georgian Lelos beat the Oaks of Romania for placement in the 2015 Rugby World Cup yesterday as well.  Go Georgia and good luck against the All Blacks. :)

We were talking to a former staffer who gave us some insight on how these Georgian wines came to Nova Scotia and how expensive it was to get them here.  Having to have the wines shipped from Georgia to Germany then on to Canada.  That said, they retailed for less than $20 so it would be interesting to know the wholesale price.

The bottle is dark so we incorrectly assumed that would be a golden or amber wine.  In fact, this is a very light colour wine, it borders on clear with a little fizz in the bottom of the glass.  Really interesting look to the wine made even more surprising by lack of colour.  It is so watery that there are no legs in the glass and it more comes down in a sheet.

The overwhelming notes are peaches and lavender.  It is not a super complex wine from the bouquet side of things but Shannon thought it had a strong nose and I thought it was quite soft.  Neither one of us had a cold so it was a strange scenario.

The wine is off dry but is definitely on the dry side for sure of off dry for sure.  If you're from Nova Scotia you would understand that it tastes a little like Tidal Bay, our local appellation.  It is tart and crisp with a nice amount of minerality and apple and pear notes.  It's a bit like touching your tongue to battery but in a good way.  The wine lingers on the palate a good long time.  We paired it with spinach ravioli and lobster sauce which was great.

	Tasting Notes:	Score:
Sight (0-5)	Very light colour, almost clear that is thin and watery in the glass with a little fizz.	4.0
Smell (0-5)	Peaches and lavender are the main scents on the wine which can be strong or soft depending on your nose.	4.25
Taste (0-10)	Slightly off dry but tart with apple and pear notes and lots of minerality.	8.25
	Total:	16.5 / 20 (82.5%)

If you can find this wine or even this variety give it a try.  It is really fun to find these wines from around the globe.  Now we'll look for other Eastern European wines to try.  We've heard good things about Moldova and Croatia.  The adventure continues...

Keep on tasting!

Chris & Shannon