ET CETERA | Feteasca Neagra | 2016
feteasca neagra

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Today we are going to review a legendary single varietal feteasca neagra wine from the winemaker’s flagship line, also known as ‘the black label’ – Feteasca Neagra 2016 by Et Cetera. Feteasca Neagra is an indigenous romanian grape variety that has been grown for hundreds of years on substantial plantings in the south of Moldova and eastern Muntenia and today it is the most planted red variety in Romania, a variety that has not been yet explored at its full potential in Moldova. This particular wine has been produced in a very limited edition of only 1296 bottles and aged in french oak barrels. Feteasca Neagra wines are usually fruit-forward, bold and complex – wines that can be compared to new world cabernet sauvignon, mostly due to their full body and elegant textures, but enough theory – without further ado, let’s move on, straight to the tasting!
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

Visual
Very deep and noble ruby color with deep crimson shades towards the rim of the glass.

Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with overripe red and black fruit flavours: black mulberry, black cherry, black plum, blackberry, black raspberry, blackcurrant, sour cherry and cherry tree wood. An instant later the nose is filled with elegant notes of roasted oakwood, black plum jam, black cherry jam, blackcurrant jam, black mulberry jam, smoked plum, red & black pepper, nutmeg, cloves, sweet tobacco and some insistent hints of charred wood.

Gustatory
The wine is medium-dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and fine-grained tannins. It feels fruity, jammy and expressive, with a crispy-smooth mouthfeel and round body. This is a quite youthful, supple and  bit woody wine, that tastes a bit seedy, complex and quite nuanced. Overall, the wine has a fair balance between primary fruit aromas and oak flavours and it creates the impression of a very fine and noble feteasca neagra wine.

Aftertaste
The wine has a long finish and an balanced, smooth and a bit tart aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and, with a total of 91.4 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 quite youthful yet fine feteasca neagra wine, one that is still on the rise – a wine with a very good ageing potential, therefore we would recommend 2 to 3 more years of bottle ageing. Despite its youthfulness, the wine has a fine-tannic grip on the mouthfeel, with expressive fruitiness, that coupled with nuanced woody notes, gain additional traction on the plate. The wine might lack some complexity and firmness, still it feels well structured and round. In order to amplify its aromatics, we would suggest to pair this wine with meaty dishes that are rich in umami flavours, like for example a pan-seared filet mignon steak with red wine reduction sauce, as this is a fine pairing indeed. Cheers!

WineStatistics tasting results:

ET CETERA
Feteasca Neagra | 2016

grape: | feteasca neagra |

region: Moldova | Stefan-Voda

overall rating: | 91.4 |

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.