2023 Iago, Chinuri, Kartli

Iago Bitarishvili, Georgia’s first certified organic winemaker, produces this benchmark Chinuri from 60-year-old vines in the Mukhrani Valley. The 2023 vintage was a triumph of patience; after a cold, wet spring and intense disease pressure, Iago waited until late October to harvest, securing the grape’s signature 'nerve' and ripeness. Fermented with full stem inclusion in 2,000-liter buried qvevri, the wine underwent a rare seven-month maceration to build its formidable structure. It is a wine of lean muscularity and mineral precision, offering a dense mid-palate and a persistent, saline finish that speaks to the limestone-rich alluvial soils of Chardakhi.