Pheasant's Tears Saperavi 2023

Saperavi is Georgia's flagship red grape, aged here in traditional clay qvevri. Dark, structured, savoury. Wine from the birthplace of wine.

Pheasant's Tears began in 2007, when John Wurdeman, an American painter living in Georgia since 1998, bought a Saperavi vineyard with local grower Gela Patalishvili. The two set out to keep the old Kakhetian methods working rather than let them fade into folklore.

Some of their buried clay vessels are up to 200 years old. The Saperavi ferments on wild yeast with a long spell on skins, which builds the wine's grip. Nothing is added and nothing is taken away.

For all that structure, the natural acidity keeps it fresh at the table. Pour it with lamb, beef or a hard aged cheese. Decant it if you can spare the half hour, because the earthy side opens up with air.