Mukuzani 2004, Kakheti
20th April 2008
I once found myself in Leningrad, in what was then the Soviet Union. Mikhail Gorbachev had only lately come to office, and it was easy to see why he was demanding reform. The place was shabby, the people ill-dressed. Long queues snaked out of the few shops that sold anything worth buying. And the food was vile. My most painful memory is of an evil-tasting grey goo that appeared on every dish I ordered. Apparently this was pureed aubergine, ubiquitous thanks to a bumper harvest.
After a week of it I asked a tour guide if there was anywhere I wouldn’t be served aubergine, pureed or otherwise. He gave me the name of a Georgian restaurant, reputedly the best in Leningrad. The place wasn’t too bad. They served a reasonably interesting meat-ball dish. In any other context this would have made little impression; after a week of Soviet aubergines it tasted like manna. But the real surprise was the wine. By any standards it was really good.
Of course it ought to have been. Most historians agree that winemaking first began in Georgia and only later moved west. The climates and soils of its five regions accommodate over 500 grape varietals, one being the Saperavi grape of the Kakheti region. Some mighty wines were made here under the Tsars, but as you would expect, the Soviet period proved less dazzling. Stalin, a Georgian, tolerated winemaking. Gorbachev, a Russian, opposed it, and sharply reduced the region’s production. The post-Soviet years have seen a modest revival.
This Mukuzani is one of Georgia’s better contemporary wines. It takes its name from the district of Mukuzani, in Kakheti, where it is grown. It is made entirely from Saperavi, and aged in oak for twelve months. It is a dense, blood-red wine, scented of earth and smoke, and tasting of cloves and ripe blackberries. Its finish is strong and faintly reminiscent of cigars. The nearest thing I can compare it to is Lebanese wine – the pungency and earthiness are similar, although the flavours are not. It is sharply tannic, and needs at least an hour’s breathing before it will open up. Then you will find yourself drinking a surprisingly refined, well-balanced red, fit to accompany almost any meat dish. A very good buy at $18, or £9.
