The Wine Reference🍷 SupportSaperavi grape
Saperavi is a red grape known for blackberry, plum, spice. Its best-known homes are Georgia.
Origin and history
Native to Georgia, one of the world's oldest winemaking countries, where it has been grown for centuries in the eastern region of Kakheti.
Where it grows
Kakheti in Georgia (Mukuzani, Napareuli, Kindzmarauli, Akhasheni), plus Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, Australia and New York's Finger Lakes.
Structure
Full body, inky colour, high acidity and firm tannins; also made semi-sweet in Kindzmarauli and Akhasheni.
Aromas, young and aged
Young: blackberry, black plum, liquorice and spice. With age: dried fruit, tobacco, chocolate, smoke and earth.
Ageing
Simpler wines drink in 3–5 years; top Mukuzani and qvevri-made wines can age 10–20 years or more.
Also known as
Saperavi Kakhuri.
Good to know
A rare teinturier with red flesh as well as skin; its name means 'dye' or 'paint' in Georgian, and it is often fermented in clay qvevri.
Wine regions for Saperavi
Saperavi wines to try
Real bottles from The Wine Library.
Teliani Valley Mukuzani
Deep-coloured Saperavi: blackberry, plum, sour cherry and oak spice.
Food: Lamb shashlik, beef stew, hard cheese
Pheasant's Tears Saperavi
Inky, qvevri-made red of blackberry, sour cherry and earthy spice, with firm, grippy tannins.
Food: Lamb shashlik with tkemali plum sauce
Similar red grapes
Explore all grapes in the interactive guide
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