Peculiarities of vinification. This wine is crafted from the autochthonous Caucasian grape variety, Saperavi, harvested from the specially selected best vineyard block with the yield restricted to 6 tons per hectare. The grapes were picked by hand when their ‘technological ripeness’ coincided with the ‘polyphenolic maturity.’ Fermentation in pigeage tanks. Malolactic fermentation on skins. Maturation in French oak barriques for 1 year, with subsequent bottle maturation for at least 6 months.
Sensory characteristics. Colour: dark-ruby. Caseous-dairy and chocolate notes in the flavour play with the nuances of cherry stone, prunes, mulberry and wild violet. Taste: velvety, extractive and weighty, with a pleasant grip, vanilla and berrylike notes, and a chocolate finish.
Food pairing: game, grilled meat and soft cheeses.
To be served at 16 – 18° C.
Important! In Georgian, Saperavi means ‘painter’, ‘dye’, ‘colour giver’, because the berries of this grape variety contain a great number of anthocyans (a colouring matter), so do not wonder if your mouth and the glass will become coloured after you have tasted this wine.
Youthful and perfumed with succulent black fruit freshness. Layered and complex, this a big style with plenty of punch and huge depth and concentration. It's impressive, extracted, ripe and well-balanced. Highly impressive example.
A deep rich red colour with youthful purple hues the 2016 100 Shades Fanagoria Saperavi displays layers of cherries, savoury spices, chocolate and a lovely complexing earthiness on the nose. Vibrant and youthful on the palate with exuberant, yet pillow soft astringency the wine has an intensity of flavour, a balanced firm acidity and a long agreeable finish that are the hallmarks of truly great wines that are capable of benefiting from extended maturation. Ideal with strong red meats and cheeses this wine is drinking well now however with good cellaring will continue to improve throughout this decade and beyond and is a classic example of world class Russian winemaking.
John Worontschak, winemaker
Very sophisticated and variegated flavour; the notes flow over one another – fennel, butter, caramel, cedar, and black fruits. High acidity, smooth body and long finish. The fist that came to my mind was roasted bacon, quiche Lorraine, bacon sirloin steak, and game rillette.
Aleksei Nesmeyanov, Simple Collection
An avalanche, fireworks, flavour bomb, and tsunami of helmet shell and prunes. A light meaty tone in the marinade with spicy herbs and black pepper. A nice, super-ripe, fresh, tender and lively fruitiness. A tango of excellent acidity and splendid body.
Olga Liashchuk, Twins Wine Chef Sommelier
Let’s get tuned for the next week with – without any exaggeration – Russia’s best wine. Whatever one may say, but Saperavi turned out to be really nifty in A Hundred Shades. The moderately concentrated flavour with notes of sweet and sour cherry, meadow grasses, graphite and coffee beans is superb. On the palate, all is where it should be: ripe velvety tannins, nice acidity level, and sound medium body. From all diversity presently made in Russia, this wine definitely deserves closest attention.
Grigori Chegodaev, Chef Sommelier, ASI member, Best Russian Sommelier 2019