Two Georgians Tsinandali 2004

This wine smells like overripe pears and heavy white flowers. There's a somewhat overwrought perfume here reminiscent of cheap floral perfumes dusty from neglect, stashed behind the counter of a small town drugstore. There's almost a slight citral note here, too, but ultimately what is there isn't there for long; this wine doesn't smell fresh or old, just reticent.

Somewhat medium bodied in the mouth, the entry of the wine is unremarkable, but blossoms strangely into something resembling a weak tisane of elderflowers and mint. It's all tinged by what I'll describe as the taste of cheapness: it's got that strange, overcropped feel you get in developing countries that have yet to rejoin the world of modern winemaking techniques. It reminds me of cheap Slovene wines or indifferent mass-produced French ones.

There's good, well-judged supporting acidity on the finish, and the flavor - such as it is - does linger for a while. Ultimately, this seems to be a case of wasted potential; everything here could be good given reduced vineyard yields, but someone went for quantity, not quality, and what we're left with is a bottle of wine that's good enough to make me sad for what could have been, but nothing more than that.