Initially in the glass, you’ll notice the same fragrant, aromatic array found in mulberry, cherry, and blackberry with overtones of wild violet flowers. Distinct for its deep, midnight purple color and crimson highlight, the taste on the palate is smooth and silky, with layers of black fruit that will evolve with age. The finish is bright and memorable, as pure as the famous garden where it was first discovered.
Vinification: Made with the traditional Saperavi grape, the fruit is crushed, de-stemmed, and transferred into separate vats. Throughout fermentation, it is handled gently to ensure soft extraction to retain the suppleness and smoothness of the finished wine. The fermentation is stopped early to retain some natural residual sweetness – at an optimal level – for the final style requirements.
Lost Eden Wine is made by 11th-generation winemaker Lado Uzunashvili – an internationally recognized and prominent Georgian winemaker who also trained in both France and Australia. The wine celebrates modern wine-making practices with a nod to Georgia’s traditional Qvevri vessels and is a blend of the Georgian native grape, Saperavi, farmed from several prestigious vineyards.
The most authentic part of the blend comes from the wine that is made in traditional Georgian Qvevris (pronounced kewv-rees), which is added to the main blend towards the end of fermentation. The two unique components marry in harmony until bottling.
The Country of Georgia is regarded as the birthplace of wine. Winemaking is a countrywide endeavor in this lush, green garden nation nestled between the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains, bordering with Russia. And yet, this garden of Eden has remained a mystery to most of the wine-drinking world… until now.
Georgia has a documented tradition of winemaking, dating back 8,000 years. Wine is an intimate endeavor at the heart of Georgia’s history, deeply intertwined with religion, family traditions, hospitality, and everyday life. However, 70 years of forced dependence on the Soviet economy led to a majority (60%) of Georgian wine being exported to Russia, giving the country huge economic power over Georgia’s wine industry. At will, the Russian government has placed embargos on Georgian wine, destroying the industry in a matter of weeks. To break free from Russia’s grasp and its economic whims, the country’s visionary wine project was born.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Lost Eden a wine from the country of Georgia. https://losteden.com/
This wine is made with the grape variety saperavi. I can’t think of a time where I’ve ever had this grape let alone a wine from Georgia. The bottle says it is a red blend but doesn’t mention the blend, and everything online points to this being 100% saperavi. It also points to possibly being pulled from multiple vineyards (blends).
First thing first. This is a heavey bottle very dark glass and molded glass to look like grape vines (maybe) it is sealed with shrink wrap and a glass stopper on a short neck.
Deep purple color almost to a cabernet. Aromas of black cherry, currant and mouth watering acid. At 13% the legs still hold the glass well.
This rattage arrived while I was out of town so it rested in its shipping box until this past Monday. Here’s hopping no shipping shock.
This is bold in fruit flavor. Cherry and blackberry, currant flavors overwhelm my mouth and coat the tongue. Plenty of tannin and acid to pucker my cheeks. The finish spicey, leathery, smokey and semi dry. The dark color does not lead to a heavy wine, but a medium body.
Different web pages hint that this wine could handle some further rest. As it sits I think casemates missed the delivery window by a couple of days. I think this could pair nicely with Thanksgiving or other poultry dishes.
Got fairly advanced warning from Alice about this one – email on T-day eve, and delivery scheduled by Black Friday evening. Couldn’t wait to open once it arrived, and what was inside was… 2018 Lost Eden Saperavi Red Blend
…nothing like any wine bottle I’ve seen before: black, ornately veiny(vine?)-textured glass with a recessed well for an embossed, metallic label – something you might see on Dracula’s liquor shelf among strewn-about bones and skulls. No information on the bottle as to what comprises the blend, part of the mystery I guess.
Even more curious at this point, and since it was still cool from the chilly outdoor temperature, I couldn’t wait. Opening was a bit of a challenge. Removing the plastic wrapping on the neck revealed a hard, flat, black cap - no cork or twist off. I was unable pull straight off; I had to push both thumbs up on one side to pop out a plug similar to a whiskey bottle.
Sniffed at the bottle and got a bit of cherry and blueberry. Poured in a glass it was dark in color, almost opaque mulberry. At first tasting my partner was knocked nearly over with the sweetness. It was intensely dark, jammy, with blue or blackberry, vanilla, tobacco - dried, sugary… raisiny. Might have just needed some time so we plugged it back and banished it to the depths until daybreak.
Saturday we set out to turn the embarrassing amount of turkey left into a pho ga to make it feel less like just leftovers. While simmering, we resurrected the bottle to taste upon its contents. While a bit smoother, there was still a heavily rich, dense, sweet raisin or plum flavor. There was a bit of chocolate in the finish. Neither of us are particularly into sweet wines (or food for that matter), so this was still a bit much for us. Her comment was “it’s like a dessert wine” and said she tasted prune, following with an uncertain “it’s good…” With dinner it was overpowering and not a great pair, which I was already thinking. Probably better suited for dark chocolates or fruits.
I’m interested to see other rats’ opinions on this. Considering the bottle looked like the genie of Ozzy Osbourne would erupt when opened and offer wishes with deadly side effects, we were less than bewitched beyond the cool bottle. I could see its place as a Valentine’s date nightcap maybe, but as of writing this we have not finished the bottle and that actually is rare for us.
TL; DR: Sweet, jammy, raisin, in a unique novelty bottle, but just not a favorite for us. I would guess this would land at the Casemates $9-10 range. Thank you so much for the fun opportunity to rat and adding an extra interesting activity to our holiday weekend!
*Edit: Added the Saperavi varietal to the title (I didn’t find it on the bottle)
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations).
2018 Lost Eden Saperavi Red Blend - $30 = 23.07%
Wow! I love Georgian wines. This is just a surprise to see on Casemates. Never heard of this particular wine, but in for a case just to support more Georgian wines on Casemates! Please do a high quality kindzmarauli next. The only ones I’ve found in the US are a little bland.
Also intrigued by this! The marketing videos on their website are beautiful, just found this on Wikipedia: “Saperavi produces substantial deep red wines that are suitable for extended aging, up to fifty years*. Saperavi has the potential to produce high alcohol levels and is used extensively for blending with other lesser varieties. It is the most important grape variety used to make Georgian red wines.” I’m thinking this is not a wine to compare with most wines I’m used to drinking and think I will be in for 6. *(caveat, I am not aging any wine for 50 years! )
I have had a Saperavi from Georgia at a Georgian restaurant in DC, and enjoyed it very much. It was fully dry, however, and all made in the traditional Qvevris.
Georgian wine can definitely be high quality and is worth learning more about. It did suffer from a preference for quantity and sweetness during the Soviet years.
I’m put off of this wine by the high residual sugar.
@klezman@rpm I was going to jump in to say something similar. I bought a bottle of an old vine, traditionally made Saperavi last year and was impressed. It definitely was a dry wine. With the specs here describing it as semi-dry, and rattage using words like raisin, plum, and prune, this unfortunately is not the Saperavi I’m looking for.
I have taste this wine already, totally worth to try, specially at this price range. We already passed Thanksgiving but for sure it is a good wine to pair with TG food.
2018 Lost Eden Red Blend Saperavi
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale online, $264/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Dec 19 - Thursday, Dec 22
2018 Lost Eden Saperavi Red Blend
6 bottles for $64.99 $10.83/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $99.99 $8.33/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Lost Eden a wine from the country of Georgia.
https://losteden.com/
This wine is made with the grape variety saperavi. I can’t think of a time where I’ve ever had this grape let alone a wine from Georgia. The bottle says it is a red blend but doesn’t mention the blend, and everything online points to this being 100% saperavi. It also points to possibly being pulled from multiple vineyards (blends).
First thing first. This is a heavey bottle very dark glass and molded glass to look like grape vines (maybe) it is sealed with shrink wrap and a glass stopper on a short neck.
Deep purple color almost to a cabernet. Aromas of black cherry, currant and mouth watering acid. At 13% the legs still hold the glass well.
This rattage arrived while I was out of town so it rested in its shipping box until this past Monday. Here’s hopping no shipping shock.
This is bold in fruit flavor. Cherry and blackberry, currant flavors overwhelm my mouth and coat the tongue. Plenty of tannin and acid to pucker my cheeks. The finish spicey, leathery, smokey and semi dry. The dark color does not lead to a heavy wine, but a medium body.
Different web pages hint that this wine could handle some further rest. As it sits I think casemates missed the delivery window by a couple of days. I think this could pair nicely with Thanksgiving or other poultry dishes.
Got fairly advanced warning from Alice about this one – email on T-day eve, and delivery scheduled by Black Friday evening. Couldn’t wait to open once it arrived, and what was inside was…
2018 Lost Eden Saperavi Red Blend
…nothing like any wine bottle I’ve seen before: black, ornately veiny(vine?)-textured glass with a recessed well for an embossed, metallic label – something you might see on Dracula’s liquor shelf among strewn-about bones and skulls. No information on the bottle as to what comprises the blend, part of the mystery I guess.
Even more curious at this point, and since it was still cool from the chilly outdoor temperature, I couldn’t wait. Opening was a bit of a challenge. Removing the plastic wrapping on the neck revealed a hard, flat, black cap - no cork or twist off. I was unable pull straight off; I had to push both thumbs up on one side to pop out a plug similar to a whiskey bottle.
Sniffed at the bottle and got a bit of cherry and blueberry. Poured in a glass it was dark in color, almost opaque mulberry. At first tasting my partner was knocked nearly over with the sweetness. It was intensely dark, jammy, with blue or blackberry, vanilla, tobacco - dried, sugary… raisiny. Might have just needed some time so we plugged it back and banished it to the depths until daybreak.
Saturday we set out to turn the embarrassing amount of turkey left into a pho ga to make it feel less like just leftovers. While simmering, we resurrected the bottle to taste upon its contents. While a bit smoother, there was still a heavily rich, dense, sweet raisin or plum flavor. There was a bit of chocolate in the finish. Neither of us are particularly into sweet wines (or food for that matter), so this was still a bit much for us. Her comment was “it’s like a dessert wine” and said she tasted prune, following with an uncertain “it’s good…” With dinner it was overpowering and not a great pair, which I was already thinking. Probably better suited for dark chocolates or fruits.
I’m interested to see other rats’ opinions on this. Considering the bottle looked like the genie of Ozzy Osbourne would erupt when opened and offer wishes with deadly side effects, we were less than bewitched beyond the cool bottle. I could see its place as a Valentine’s date nightcap maybe, but as of writing this we have not finished the bottle and that actually is rare for us.
TL; DR: Sweet, jammy, raisin, in a unique novelty bottle, but just not a favorite for us. I would guess this would land at the Casemates $9-10 range. Thank you so much for the fun opportunity to rat and adding an extra interesting activity to our holiday weekend!
*Edit: Added the Saperavi varietal to the title (I didn’t find it on the bottle)
$16.99 @ NH State Liquor Stores
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations).
2018 Lost Eden Saperavi Red Blend - $30 = 23.07%
Wow! I love Georgian wines. This is just a surprise to see on Casemates. Never heard of this particular wine, but in for a case just to support more Georgian wines on Casemates! Please do a high quality kindzmarauli next. The only ones I’ve found in the US are a little bland.
For the unique bottle and price I am rolling the dice. In for a case, will make fun gifts if I don’t care for it enough to hoard for myself.
/giphy secretive-obnoxious-toddy
Curiosity has gotten the better of me. In for 6!
Also intrigued by this! The marketing videos on their website are beautiful, just found this on Wikipedia: “Saperavi produces substantial deep red wines that are suitable for extended aging, up to fifty years*. Saperavi has the potential to produce high alcohol levels and is used extensively for blending with other lesser varieties. It is the most important grape variety used to make Georgian red wines.” I’m thinking this is not a wine to compare with most wines I’m used to drinking and think I will be in for 6. *(caveat, I am not aging any wine for 50 years!
)
I have had a Saperavi from Georgia at a Georgian restaurant in DC, and enjoyed it very much. It was fully dry, however, and all made in the traditional Qvevris.
Georgian wine can definitely be high quality and is worth learning more about. It did suffer from a preference for quantity and sweetness during the Soviet years.
I’m put off of this wine by the high residual sugar.
@rpm glad you pointed that out. I missed it when I scanned the page earlier.
@klezman @rpm I was going to jump in to say something similar. I bought a bottle of an old vine, traditionally made Saperavi last year and was impressed. It definitely was a dry wine. With the specs here describing it as semi-dry, and rattage using words like raisin, plum, and prune, this unfortunately is not the Saperavi I’m looking for.
Those who get this - save those glass stoppers to choose up other bottles. They’re super useful!
I have taste this wine already, totally worth to try, specially at this price range. We already passed Thanksgiving but for sure it is a good wine to pair with TG food.
Almost as sweet as a Port. They should have burned (fermented) a bit more of the sugar into ethanol. Then I would have bought a case!
I may have just determined what everyone is getting for Christmas
I really want to a) try Georgian wine and b) add another varietal to my tasted list, but not something sweet. Bring on the dry! Then I’ll buy!!!
Anyone in Denver want to do a split?
@darkzrobe I would love to do a split.
I’m in Johnstown.
@COSharon that is a tad far. I live by the airport. I only really want 3. If that is cool I will order.
/giphy rejoicing-overjoyed-blitzen
I’m in for six. Should be an interesting wine.
Sounds terrible but interesting. in for 6. Trust in WD.
If anyone is interested in Georgian wine, this is a great cookbook with a lot of info about both food and wine:
https://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Georgia-Journey-Caucasus-Recipes/dp/1623718422/