2019 Marnaveli Kisi-Khikhvi Qvevri (Amber wine) Kakheti

Pronounced Ar-jess, this comes from the lieu-dit of Babio to the northeast of the village (Karst comes from the north-northwest). The name is an homage to the ancient Greeks, who may have been the first to make wine in Gaul; it's their word for clay. The soil here is clay-limestone, but the emphasis is on the clay, and it's the coupe-roses clay once used by Françoise's forefathers to make roof tiles. This heavy topsoil lays 1-2 meters over limestone bedrock, nurturing just over three acres of Roussanne and just over one of Grenache Blanc. Harvest is by hand, the grapes pass over a selection table, fermentation is spontaneous (20% in neutral 500L demi-muids, the rest in steel), blending takes place in early December, and bottling is in the following spring. No fining or filtration, no SO2 or other additions.