TIMBRUS | Saperavi | Oak Aged | 2015
saperavi

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Tonight we are going to review a single varietal saperavi wine – a teinturier grape variety, which means that the flesh of the berry is dark in color, thus the resulting wines are very deep in color with nuanced acidity and firm tannins, which makes them respond well to ageing – Saperavi Oak Aged 2015 by Timbrus. The wine has been aged for 18 months in oak barrels in order to get more elegance and complexity and although Georgia is the birthplace of saperavi, there are a handful of other european countries that also grow and produce premium quality saperavi wines, and Moldova is one of them. But let’s not get carried away by all that theory and move on to the wine tasting!
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

Visual
Deep and noble ruby color, with pale garnet shades towards the rim of the glass.

Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with black fruits and smoky flavours: blackcurrant, black plum, black cherry, blackberry, dried cherry, dried cranberry, black mulberry and some nuanced leathery hints. An instant later the nose is filled with notes of red & black pepper, roasted oakwood, black tea, tobacco and some delicate hints of charred wood.

Gustatory
The wine is dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and fine tannin. It feels tart, lean and opulent, with a nuanced fruity-woody profile. This is a quite crisp, green and even angular saperavi wine, as it tastes spicy-sharp and youthfully acrid. The wine is a bit off its balance, as it definitely lacks elegance and complexity on the mouthfeel, with a fair overall balance and overwhelming opulence.

Aftertaste
The wine has a medium-plus finish and a quite tart and acrid aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and, with a total of 90.0 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Conclusion: this is a fine example of a wine that lacks character and complexity, as it is a bit off the desired balance – a wine that is still on the rise but at the same time, a wine that is not worth ageing, therefore our suggestion is to not keep it for more than 12 months in the bottle and uncork it as soon as possible. We would recommend to pair this wine with dishes that are rich in natural fat and creamy textures, like for example a medium-rare filet mignon steak with garlic herb butter or garlic & bacon mushrooms. Cheers!

WineStatistics tasting results:

TIMBRUS
Saperavi | Oak Aged | 2015

grape: | saperavi |

region: Moldova | Stefan-Voda

overall rating: | 90.0 |

maturity: on the rise

conclusion: fine | (highly recommended)

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© 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. Just remember that there are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.