BORDEAUX, THE FRENCH FANAGORIA

Well, I am surprised. I found this wine in an underground bar off Nevsky Prospect last week. It is from a region in the south of Russia called Fanagoria, and on the back of the bottle, a map displays how it is located along the same lattitude as Bordeaux.

The red, Saperavi, usually associated with Georgian wines in the CIS, was deep, dark, dry, and tasted similar to a Grenache. It has an odour after opening similar to some Spanish wines I have tried; a barnyard smell. This can be overcome by letting the bottle breathe a bit before drinking.

I have not yet tried the Chardonnay, displayed on the right. These bottles are priced at Red: 188 rubles and white: 150.

Definitely not what I expected and are decent every day drinking wines.