EQUINOX | 5 Elemente | 2012
cabernet sauvignon | carmenère | rara neagra | syrah | malbec

WineStatistics will be evaluating wines in no particular order on no particular schedule. Just stay tuned and you will never miss one. If the wine is tasted more than once, the rating table will be updated so as to reflect all the new impressions and observations. The logic is simple – the more we taste, the more we learn.

We continue to review Wine of Moldova and we are still on the wine blend theme for a reason, as we’ve decided to bring out something rare and quite special. The wine that we’ve chosen for the review tonight is a legendary one, it is produced in a very limited edition and it’s blending formula is unique for every vintage, as it depends on the quality of every grape element, that’s why this wine is regarded as one of the best wines of Moldova – 5 Elemente 2012 from Equinox.

Let’s take a deeper look at the tasting notes and the wine’s review statistics:

Visual
The wine has a noble and deep garnet color, with the rim-color showing some hints of purple shades.

Olfactory
The nose is rich and modest, with no signs of wine faults. The first nose is filled with ripe red and black fruits: ripe sour cherry, red currant, red plum, black cherry, black raspberry, black raspberry and black mulberry. An instant later comes secondary and tertiary notes of red and black pepper, coffee beans, confied sour cherry, wormwood and the elegant flavor of a roasted oakwood mixed with some subtle hints of vanilla.

Gustatory
The wine is dry, with no signs of residual sugar. It has high, but very well integrated alcohol level, high acidity and dry tannin, which makes it taste bold and fruit-forward. This is a new-world type of blend – expressive, complex and full-bodied, with a massive, firm and spicy profile. This wine has a fair overall balance, it feels a bit angular, quite bitter-seedy and extracted-oaky. This is a wine that dominates on all aspects, a quite powerful one.

Aftertaste
The wine has a medium-plus finish and a balanced, velvety-astringent aftertaste.

This is definitely a great Wine of Moldova and the overall rating says the same, with 90.5 points scored it is right there, among the best wines we’ve tasted so far. Please click on the chart icon on the left in order to get to the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines we’ve tasted to date.

Last but not least, we would like to mention that this wine is a perfect example of how good a Wine of Moldova can be and it is truly living up to its name, as it is a blend of 5 different elements: cabernet sauvignon with its character and structure, carmenère with the delicateness and earthiness, rara neagra with indigenous terroir and flavour, syrah with spiciness and boldness and malbec with its sour cherry and coffee notes. The story behind this wine is fascinating, as in just a couple of years of its existence, this wine became a legend alive – a symbol for quality and tradition, a Wine of Moldova in its prime.

WineStatistics tasting results:

EQUINOX
5 Elemente | 2012

grape: | cabernet sauvignon | carmenère | rara neagra | syrah | malbec |

region: Moldova | Stefan-Voda

overall rating: | 90.5 |

conclusion: great | a must try

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(c) The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. There are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.