Author: Dirk Chan
With the war going on, we’ve had customers inquiring about wine from the Ukraine. I’d thought we’d feature a red that’s in the store.
Kolonist is a famous winery whose lands goes back to the second half of the 18th century when nomadic Nogai tribes and Bulgarian colonists (hence the name Kolonist) lived in the area. Located amidst scorched sun in the Danubian Bessarabia (the southwestern part of the Odessa region) on Ukraine’s border with Moldova and Romania, the Kolonist Winery is also getting international recognition. It has the famed fertile black soil, chernozem that imparts its minerality to the wines.
Olivier Dauga is the flying French Bordeaux winemaker from Domaines Rollan de By in and Chateau Haut Condissas AOC Medoc who is doing work with the land that sits on the same latitude as Bordeaux and Piedmont and is close by the Danube, the Black Sea and Ukraine’s biggest lake, Yalpug.
The Odessa Black red is made from the Black Odessa grape, the native red grape that was a mid-twentieth century genetic crossing. Fascinating blackberry nose with mulberry tones and smoky notes from the six months of French oak barrique aging, the result is an intense but well-balanced fruit bomb of dried fruit, juicy blueberries and creamy vanilla leading to a rich finish. The alcohol checks in at 13.5%.
2019 Kolonist Black Odessa (Odessa, Ukraine) – $24.99
We also have a couple of beers from Ukraine also:
Lvivske 1715 Lager (Ukraine) – $3.99
Obolon Lager (Ukraine) – $3.59
Support Ukraine everyone!!