This week I bring to you a wine that I enjoyed at my partner’s nonnas. We were lucky enough to be invited to her house on Tuesday night for dinner, which I always take as a bit of an honor, because she cooks the most amazing food! This week she cooked gnocchi, and I have to say it is actually the best gnocchi I’ve ever had in my life. I am still dreaming about it, and I only wish my stomach had been bigger so I could have fit more in! I would love to learn how to cook her recipes, because everything she makes is out of this world good. But this gnocchi, oh my god, I need more of it in my life! But what I also need is more of this Saperavi we enjoyed with it.

So I had every intention of not drinking during the week this week, but as always, things didn’t go according to plan. Which I only feel slightly guilty about, because I got to enjoy a delicious red on Tuesday night. What is authentic Italian cooking without some delicious red wine to enjoy it with? I mean it would still be amazing, but I find wine enhances the experience 10 fold. So when my partner started pouring me a glass, rather than stopping him, I just thanked him and sipped my wine quietly.

Bring on the Saperavi

The wine we had with dinner is from Clovely Estate, a company that we’ve often enjoyed wine from as the family Christmas for my partners family is usually held at their cellar door in Brisbane (seriously one of my favourite Christmas parties of the year). They have a great selection of wines, although I don’t often see them in bottle shops. Luckily if you are from Brisbane you can visit the cellar door in Red Hill to get your fix. The one we enjoyed on Tuesday night was their Saperavi from 2014.

What to enjoy it with

I haven’t really had much of this grape variety before, but to me it is a very heavy red. It was actually probably a bit too heavy to be having with gnocchi, as it almost overpowered the subtle flavours. But this Saperavi was delicious on its own, and you can almost taste in the flavours how well it would go with something heavier, such as roasted meat. The wine would be perfect with comfort food, so I can imagine it being the perfect wine for a cold winter night to cut through a heavy meal.

Why I loved it

Even though it may not have gone with our meal, I still loved the wine. The flavours were punchy and it was very tannic (in that it makes you pucker your lips when you try it). Although the flavours were strong, I still got a bit of fruity flavours to cut through the initial punch. It was nice to have a wine that was so heavy but not too overpowering. I felt like it almost warmed me from the inside, which would be perfect for winter.

Final verdict

So there you have it, a delicious wine to go with a delicious meal! If you’re keen to try this wine and some of the other great wines that Clovely has on offer, visit their cellar door! They have a nice range of more unusual varieties that you don’t find much of in bottle shops – like petit verdot and barbera!