Zurab Gvaladze
(credit drwinkler)
Zurab Gvaladze comes from a winemaking family in the municipality of Bagdati. His father was an agronomist for the Soviet collective farm in this area; the family has a 35-year-old vineyard. And his niece Baia Gvaladze and her siblings make wine nearby at another vineyard and winery in Village Obcha called Baia’s Wine. I visited Zurab and tasted his wines with him during my 2024 trip to Georgia. His wines are made in qvevri but without skin contact, and they’re aged in stainless steel, a mix of old and new winemaking techniques (see photos below). The wines are seriously good.
The wines reviewed here are made from Tsitska and Tsolikouri grapes. Tsitska is a high acid grape often used to make sparkling wines in Georgia. It has flavors of orchard fruit and melon. Tsolikouri is a thick skinned grape resistant to fungal diseases. Moderate in acidity, it makes full bodied white wines that can age.
The Wines
(credit drwinkler)
Zurab Gvaladze 2022 Tsolikouri Imereti (Obcha) Medium yellow straw. Made from the Tsolikouri grape fermented one month in qvevri with no skins and aged in stainless steel. Lively bouquet of almond, honeysuckle and chamomile. Mouthfilling with bright acidity and flavors that evoke almonds, beeswax and apple. 13% alc.
Zurab Gvaladze 2022 Tsitska Imereti (Obcha) Made like the Tsolikouri fermented in qvevri for one month with no skin contact and then aged in stainless steel. Fruity bouquet revealing citrus and apple with herbal notes and round on the palate with firm acidity and herbal, grapefruit and melon-like flavors. 12% alc.
(credit drwinkler)
Zurab Gvaladze 2022 Tsitska Tsolikouri Imereti (Obcha) This 30/70 blend of Tsitska and Tsolikouri reveals ripe apple and pear on the nose. It’s full in the mouth with high acidity and vibrant flavors of melon, lemon, and lychee with a long, chalky finish. 12% alc.
Zurab Gvaladze 2014 Sakhi N11 Tsolikuori Imereti (Obcha) Medium yellow gold. Opens with a sweet Riesling-like nose and botrytis notes. The palate is creamy with excellent depth and simply delicious. The off dry palate reveals sweet tropical fruit offset by tangy acidity. Outstanding.
Source : https://i-winereview.com/blog/index.php/2025/01/29/wines-of-imereti-zurab-gvaladze-combines-old-new/
