Bid to win this bottle of Ojaleshi wine produced by the Monks of Salkhino Monastery in Georgia! Ojaleshi wine, which was bottled in 2007, was found in Dadiani Cellar Qvevris and proved to be dated as early as 1912 based on historic sources.
In addition, you will receive an NFT representing a bottle of 1912 Ojaleshi from WiV Technology.
The cellar is built in a way that speed’s up aging 3-4 times faster based on its unique mico-climate. That was the technology from King Tamar's cellar building skills and was used by Murat while renovating the cellar. Therefore, all Ojaleshi that was poured in 2007 is now covered in fur/fluff.
Ojaleshi wine has a fascinating heritage, but more importantly it tastes superb. Matured in traditional Georgian clay Qvevris, aged in a 12th century cellar that is naturally cooled by the Tsachkhuru Gorge, and tended by monks who have turned the wine 180 degrees twice a year since it was bottled in 2007, this is an exceptional opportunity to own a very special wine.
Ojaleshi wine, produced by the monks of Salkhino Monastery, is a complex, satisfying wine with an intriguing history that is directly linked to both Georgian royal dynasties and French Emperor Napoleon III.
The wine comes from an ancient native grape variety that prefers to be trained up existing trees so that the vines can focus on quickly growing towards their ideal conditions. Its leaves have adapted to capture the energy of elements in this way and display an exceptional capacity for photosynthesis. The berries ripen later than many other varieties, deliver high volumes of polyphenols and have a notably consistent sugar content.
The palace, the church and the cellar:
Ojaleshi is produced in the village of Salkhino on the north-eastern slopes of the Kvibia Mountains, 250m above sea-level on the left bank of the Tekhuri River. It is around 15 km from the monastic town of Martvili and is famed for a royal palace and accompanying estate which includes a fascinating church and a separate wine cellar that was first built around 1,000 years ago.
The current palace was built on the site of a modest royal residence where one of Georgia’s queens lived while in mourning for her husband in the 1820s. This was replaced in the mid-1850s with a two-story stone palace that was intended to offer the rich a place to indulge themselves.
The accompanying church is said to have been the first in the region to be built in stone. It was sadly destroyed at the beginning of the communist era in the early 20th century, but its cultural significance led to its restoration and since 2007 it has been managed along with the rest of the estate by the nearby monks of the Salkhino Monastery.
The third building of interest on the Salkhino estate is the impressive 35 by 10-meter wine cellar. The cellar has existed since the 12th century, although it fell into disrepair before being rebuilt alongside the palace.
When the Monks of the Salkhino Monastery took over the estate, they restored the cellar to its 18th century glory, combining French architecture on the ground floor with traditional 12th century Georgian architecture below ground. Today, the monks use methods that date back nearly a millennia to preserve the 3,000 bottles of Ojaleshi wine that have been stored in the cellar since 2007. This includes carefully rotating each bottle 180 degrees twice a year to ensure optimum wine preservation.
The cellar is located next to the Tsachkhuru Gorge, which carries the region’s coldest river. The combination of the cellar’s architecture, its location and the monks’ commitment to protecting the bottles create an exceptional environment for wine to age.
The wine:
Ojaleshi wine has been building its international reputation since the 18th century. Prince Achille Murat, the grandson of one of Napoleon Bonepart’s Marshals and cousin of Napoleon III, married a Dadiani princess. He was fascinated by the region, decided to stay and began cultivating Ojaleshi grapes using European techniques.
According to legend, he cut down trees on about 15 acres to create the new vineyard, where he hosted his cousin Napoleon III several times. A few years later, Murat sent bottles of Ojaleshi to an international tasting competition in Paris, where the wine was awarded the Grand Prix, the highest award.
What makes Ojaleshi unique:
There are several reasons why the wine continues to be revered today. Ojaleshi, also known as Svanuri and Shonuri, is an ancient Georgian grape variety. In Megrelian, a Kartvelian language spoken in western Georgia, ja means tree, reflecting the grape’s preference to be trained up trees rather than developing its own trunk. This means the vines grow quickly towards their ideal conditions, and its leaves have adapted to capture the energy of elements in this way.
The combination of these two factors give Ojaleshi vines an exceptional capacity for photosynthesis, and its berries deliver high volumes of polyphenols that are thought to have antioxidant qualities. The grapes ripen later than many other varieties, and the sugar content ranges between 17 and 24%. Ojaleshi berries are dark blue, almost black, with thick skin, dense flesh and mouth-watering flavour and are perfect for making both dry and naturally semi-sweet wines, depending on the winemaker’s approach and the vintage.
It’s a wine that is steeped in history and deserves to reclaim its place on the international stage. Only small amounts of it are made available each year, so this is a superb opportunity to see what the fuss is about.
Details:
Tasting Notes: (Based on a 2015 similiar version of this wine)
NFT Details:
Artist: WiV Technology
Title: 1912 Ojaleshi
Year created: 2021
NFT’s edition number: 1/1
Blockchain: Ethereum
Token ID 163
Token Standard: ERC-721
NFT Token Address: 0x1e1b3525388e8a63988f8455638aee87f68eeaa7
NFT Terms:
