Marani Kondoli Vineyards Saperavi–Merlot

Selected blocks of Saperavi K.2001 and Merlot K.348, of Kondoli vineyards have been green harvested during the first days of véraison (in August) in order to artificially reduce the grape yield down to 7 tons per hectare and thus increase the overall quality and concentration of remaining fruit. At the end of September the grapes were hand harvested in small boxes, hand sorted in our winery and then gently de-stemmed and crushed for farther fermentation, which took place in open lid 225 l barriques. During the whole process of 20-25 day long fermentation, cap management was performed only by hand punching, thus overall mechanical impact on grape skins has been minimized and ensured soft extraction of tannins and coloring elements. After the maceration, wine is transferred to closed oak barriques for malo-lactic fermentation and maturation. The blend itself is made after 6-8 month and then aged up to 12 month. Coarse filtration complemented by bottling and 6 month bottle maturation in our cellar before the release.