Flavours to take you on a journey

Some wines are emotive. They seem to crackle with energy, draw you in and capture your attention. Such was the case when I tasted a wine recently from Georgia, that country wedged between Turkey and Russia thought to be the oldest wine region in the world. People made wine there 8,000 years ago, according to archeological evidence.

The 2017 Tbilvino Qvevris Saperavi from Georgia (LCBO 972496, $25.95, available online only) makes the pulse quicken with its scent that’s both familiar and unfamiliar. It’s a red wine made from hand-picked Saperavi grapes — an indigenous Georgian variety. And it’s vinified using the ancient Georgian technique of macerating the grape juice and skins together in clay vessels called Qvevri that are then buried in the ground and left to ferment for months.

You can taste the clay in this wine. The nose is rich with dark fruit — black cherries, blueberries and blackberries — while that unmistakable clay note imbues the scent. Each sip is smooth and sundrenched — a flush of rich red and black fruit that shifts to reveal hints of caramel, dates and fig. Then, that cool clay comes to the fore again and persists on the finish, leaving a fine sifting of claylike texture on the palate. Fascinating wine that’s dry and deeply satisfying. Score: 94

Another Georgian wine that’s delicious is the 2019 Tbilvino Alazani Valley Red Medium Sweet (Vintages 142109, $15.95). Though not made using the ancient Qvevri winemaking method, it is a wine made from ancient grape varieties — the dark-skinned Saperavi grape blended with the pale-skinned Rkatsiteli grape. Each glassful exudes the fragrance of wild blueberries and blackcurrant before streaming in with more of the same.

Notes of sugared coffee, beetroot and bitter chocolate emerge followed by a wonderful earthiness and an endnote of chocolate-covered espresso bean.

This wine is lowish in alcohol at 12 per cent and sweet but wonderfully balanced and drinkable. Score: 92

An often-overlooked appellation of France is Touraine in the Loire Valley. And on Saturday, the LCBO releases a smart white from that region — the 2019 Domaine du Grand Cerf Sauvignon (Vintages 20414, $16.95). It teems with freshly torn herbs and lemon zest aromas. Then, it slips in and fans out with sunlit flavours of summertime greens, sliced lime and a twist of pink grapefruit before leaving a soft sifting of chalk on the finish. This shiny-bright wine shot through with tingling acidity also offers considerable weight and stuffing, making it superb at the table. Score: 92

German Riesling is also frequently overlooked by wine lovers, even though these wines often overdeliver on many fronts. One example is the 2018 Graf Von Schönborn Schloss Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg Riesling Kabinett from the Rheingau region (Vintages 70946, $25.95). This pale, butter-coloured white is wildly aromatic with arresting scents that call to mind orange zest and sliced lime, stuck steel and wildflower fields. Then the wine floods in, blanketing the palate with an extraordinary richness, unfolding with super ripe apricot, poached pear and perfect pineapple as well as a breezy note of honeysuckle somewhere. Love the long finish. And despite the considerable sweetness in this wine, it finishes dry due to the high acidity. Score: 90

Rome is not thought of as a wine region, per se. But just outside that Italian capital sits a little winery called Appia Antica 400, owned by the famous Antinori family of Tuscan fame. That winery recently launched the stunning 2017 Appia Antica 400, IGT Rosso Lazio ($23.35/bottle, available at halpernwine.com in very limited amounts). It’s a Bordeaux-style blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc that just sings with fragrant fruit cake and cassis aromas as well as cherries and chocolate cake.

Then, it erupts on the palate with cascading flavours of black cherries and spice cake, dried citrus and blackcurrant, pencil shavings, tobacco and more. This beautiful wine could sell for twice the price. Score: 94

Wines like these bottles demonstrate how wine can be so much more than a drink … they can take you on a journey. Carolyn Evans Hammond is a Toronto-based wine writer and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Wineries occasionally sponsor segments on her YouTube series yet they have no role in the selection of the wines she chooses to review or her opinions of those wines. Reach her via email: carolyn@carolynevanshammond.com