Freddy R. Troya

8.9

Silk Road – Amber-Sec Semi-Sparkling 2022
Kakheti – Georgia 🇬🇪

Overview
A rare style, this is an amber wine made semi-sparkling and finished sec (off-dry). Produced in Kakheti, it combines Georgia’s ancient qvevri skin-contact tradition with a playful sparkling twist. (Educational note: Semi-sparkling wines usually have 1–2.5 bars of pressure, giving gentle bubbles rather than the intensity of Champagne.)

Aromas & Flavors
Apricot, dried orange peel, and candied ginger on the nose, layered with honey, tea leaf, and light floral tones. A touch of sweetness balances its earthy amber character.

Mouthfeel
Light-bodied with a soft effervescence — lively but not aggressive. Gentle tannic grip from skin contact, rounded by off-dry sweetness. Clean, refreshing, and slightly savory on the finish.

Food Pairings
Pairs beautifully with spicy Asian dishes, roasted duck with orange glaze, or Middle Eastern mezze. Also works well as an aperitif with aged cheeses or nut-based snacks.

Verdict
A fascinating crossover: the grip and depth of amber wine with the fun, festive lift of semi-sparkling bubbles. The 2022 vintage is lively, slightly sweet, and truly distinctive — both rustic and playful. 🍷✨

Did You Know?
Georgia’s amber wines are almost always still, making a semi-sparkling amber-sec highly unusual — a creative modern spin on an 8,000-year-old tradition.

Hidden Gem 💎
An amber-sec semi-sparkling wine from Kakheti is about as rare as it gets. This Silk Road 2022 shows Georgia’s winemakers aren’t just keepers of tradition — they’re also innovators. — 12 days ago

Melissa M. Sutherland

Importer Winebow Wines

9.6

Busted loose the 2008 to assess early drinking potential. A sacrifice of one bottle for five. Honestly, there is something about 2008 Brunellos that are less austere/classic than 2006, but do not possess that tiny bit of burn from the heat of 2007. So, drink earlier (now) or wait for another 4-7 years. 2008s are drinkers and keepers. — 11 years ago

Aaron Tan

9.1

"An analysis of 286 penalty shootouts found most keepers prefer to leap left (49.3%) or right (44.4%) instead of staying put in the centre (6.3%)".

So DC said to TW, "If you can guess how many percent alcohol this is, I'll give you a free bottle". When approached with a question like this, the better choice is to treat it like a goalkeeper - jump to either extremes. In this case, TW jumped left, DC won the shoot out, and no handouts were made.

15% abv! What?! Can't blame TW for punting on the low end. It's such a pale and airy red. And gosh, it didn't help that the similarly coloured Fedellos Bastarda at 12% abv was just presented prior (not that colour's any good at indicating alcohol). The wine itself was beautiful - red-fruited, spicy, floral, with notes of blood orange and an underlying minerality. Only after careful contrasting and some time (which was what we should have done in the first place) did we pick up the warmth in the rather long finish. Air too brought a clearer perception of the silky texture. Overall, a wine that would certainly knock you out if you're not careful of it's highly quaffable nature. — 4 years ago

Jean Wehner

9.5

Week in Nantucket after First screening of The Keepers w/Helen & Rod. — 8 years ago

Suzanne Joslin

8.9

Nice sweet & light taste. Ruby red color looks great — 13 years ago

Patrick Huska

10

Very fruity and rich! Great price also, was on for 7$! Very good — 7 years ago

Paul Littlejohn

9.0

Cherry on the nose, highly viscous, and dark purple hue, this Zin rocks! Dark berries on the pallete with a slight hint of bacon. Excellent, I’m adding this to my “keepers” list. — 8 years ago

Ivor

9.0

10 years old and I think slightly over its top, despite 07 was such a winners year, apparently not a keepers year 😉. Stil some Dark fruits, cedar/toasty tones and a solid finish but time to drink up! — 8 years ago

Lana M.

9.8

Lightly sweet and very enjoyable with or without a meal. Definitely on my list of keepers!!! — 13 years ago