Gapsted Saperavi

Date: 14 September, 2012
What: 2006 Gapsted Saperavi, Alpine Valleys, Victoria
Purchased: $25, cellar door
Food: after pizza
Comments: I bought this one a few years ago when we were on holiday in the area.  It wasn't available for tasting but I was intrigued about a grape I had never heard of (my knowledge of things vinuous in the former Soviet state of Georgia is scratchy to say the least).  It has been sitting there untouched as a quaffer that I nonetheless wanted to have a wine wank about but have never found the moment; I almost didn't go there tonight as for some reason I have had it in my mind as a lighter style - so there was some surprise when I poured it!  Nice dark colour but with a bit of vibrancy.  Savoury and foresty nose.  It drinks like a hybrid of a bigger Italian wine (nebbiolo, a solid Chianti perhaps) and a shiraz.  Dense, with dark fruits (plums, blackberries) and that leathery, tobacco thing that makes me think Italian (Italian wines; I don't mean to say that I start thinking in Italian).  And then there's a savoury, spicy bit alongside which is all cool climate shiraz.  Has a very grippy, softly tannic feel that adds an appealing chewiness.  It actually reflects the area it comes from pretty well - the Alpine and King Valleys are highlighted by Italian families and grape varieties, and next door is Beechworth which has some cracking shirazes.  Good gear.