KAVSHIRI 2023 White Assemblage

This white assemblage combines wines from 2017, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Nearly two thirds – 62% - comes from Kakheti in the east of Georgia with the remainder coming from Imereti in the west. There are 8 Georgian varieties and 2 ‘outsiders’: Aligoté and Muscat

The wines were all blended by Joseph and Kublashvili and finally bottled in January 2025.
Ultimately, after multiple sessions, there were 28 components.

This complex, dry wine has multi-layered flavours of stone fruits, especially apricot and peach, with a variety of herbs. The orange peel character of the qvevri fermentation is clearly discernible, but it is subtle, and the use of oak is almost invisible. It is emphatically Georgian and hopefully unique in style, but for those looking for points of reference, tasters have said that it put them in mind of white wines from the Northern Rhône and from North-East Italy.

It is traditional to recommend food pairings. However, a Georgian meal very often combines meat, fish and vegetable dishes, and there is no tradition of matching wines to specific dishes. We believe that it will partner a wide range of cuisines and be delicious by itself. It will develop further over the long term (5-10 years).

Serving

Where qvevri - orange, skin-contact - wines are often served at room temperature, K’AVSHIRI is probably at its best at 13-14˚ C (56-57˚ F). Like fine white Burgundy, it benefits from being decanted.

Alcohol

12.5%

Regions

Kakheti (East Georgia): 62% Imereti (West Georgia) 38%.

The Rkatsiteli (30%), Mtsvane (20%) Khikhvi (7%), Mtsvivani (3%) and Kisi (2%) all come from Kakheti, in particular from the village of Vachnadziani about two thirds of the way from Tbilisi to the frontier with Russia, where the soil is mixed: alluvial, calcerous. shallow/skeletal, with some thick loam. Altitudes are around 300m.

The Krakhuna (15%), Tsiska (10%), Tsolikouri (8%), Aligoté (3%) and Muscat (2%) are mostly from Etseri at an altitude of 140m in Imereti with gravel, clay and sandy clay soil.

Grape characteristics.

(These refer to conventional stainless steel fermentation; the impact of qvevri fermentation varies, depending on the variety.)

Rkatsiteli: 30% (qvevri, stainless steel, skin contact in stainless steel, oak). Slightly reminiscent of Trebbiano, this is has subtly tropical, spice and quince notes with some fennel and lime.

Mtsvane: 20% (qvevri and stainless steel). Green apple is the keynote here, with some pear, pineapple and loral notes.

Krakhuna: 15% (qvevri and stainless steel). Lots of yellow fruit, with dried apricots and honeycomb and some herbal notes.

Tstitska: 10% (stainless steel). A fine variety for sparkling wine, this has good, grassy acidity, with apricot, pear, quince and melon.

Tsolikouri: 8% (stainless steel). Gently floral, this has good stone fruit character.

Khikhvi: 7% (qvevri and stainless steel). Another yellow-fruit-based wine with quite soft acidity.

Mtsvivani: 3% (stainless steel). A rare variety with notes of peach and mandarin.

Aligoté: 3% (stainless steel). A Burgundy variety with good acidity based on apples and lemons.

Kisi: 2% (qvevri and stainless steel). The most aromatic Georgian variety, wildflowers

Muscat: 2% (stainless steel). Fresh, grapey, aromatic.

Winemaking

The white Assemblage combines several techniques, including 6-month fermentation on 100% skins in buried qvevri amphora in Kakheti, 4-month fementation with 30% skins in Imereti; 5-week 100% skin fermentation in stainless steel; conventional fermentation in stainless steel and in second and third-year French barriques. No stalks were used in the qvevri ferments which were all fermented with wild yeasts. Qvevris varied in size between1,000 litres in Imereti to 1-3,000 litres in Kakheti.

Vintages

2017: 10%. Dry winter followed by ideal flowering and budburst conditions and drought in the summer. Even so, Rkatsiteli grapes had good fruit ripeness and acidity.

2021: 8%. After a cold winter, the growing season began two weeks late. Another summer drought was followed by welcome rain in early September and there was a good, if late, harvest in quantity and quality for those who avoided the problems of rot.

2022: 30%. The best of the four vintages was marked by a very hot June and July and drought in August quite serious drought. Even so, there was a high quality harvest in early September.

2023: 52%. A tricky, ‘eclectic’ vintage with a rainy Spring and poor flowering. There were also five hailstorms in Kakheti from May to August and 35% of the crop was lost, including all of the Kisi and some Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane.