CARPE DIEM | Feteasca Neagra | 2015
feteasca neagra
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Today we are going to review a very unique single varietal feteasca neagra wine – Feteasca Neagra 2015 by Carpe Diem. 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 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 1550 bottles and aged in medium toasted french oak barrels for 12 months. 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, high tannin content and elegant textures, but enough theory – without further ado, let’s move on, straight to the wine tasting phase!
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:
Visual
Deep ruby color with noble garnet shades towards the rim of the glass.
Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with ripe red and black fruit flavours: sour cherry, black cherry, black plum, redcurrant, blackberry, aronia berry, black raspberry, blackcurrant and cherry tree wood. An instant later the nose is filled with elegant notes of roasted oakwood, black pepper, nutmeg, cloves, sweet tobacco and some hints of sweetwood.
Gustatory
The wine is medium-dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and fine-grained tannins. It feels supple, fruity and expressive, with a crispy-elegant mouthfeel and plump body. This is a quite round, very appealing and a bit opulent feteasca neagra wine, that tastes delicious, noble and quite nuanced. Overall, the wine has a fair balance between primary fruit aromas and oak-infused flavours and it creates the impression of a very fine and harmonious wine, lacking maybe just a bit of character on the palate.
Aftertaste
The wine has a long finish and an balanced, seedy and a bit tart aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and, with a total of 91.1 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 very fine feteasca neagra wine that is right there – at the summit of its prime form – nicely balanced, elegant and harmonious – a wine that can still age for another year or two, yet we would recommend to drink it today rather than tomorrow. We’ve already mentioned it before that it is of paramount importance to understand a wine’s limits, as it is always better to drink a wine a year too soon than a day too late. There are wines that might gain some much desired elegance and finesse with age, but there are also wines that are elegant enough in their yearly stages and age will only take its toll on them. That said, pair this wine with soft, fat-rich meaty dishes, like for example a filet mignon steak with red sauce, and remember to keep the filet mignon steak rare. Cheers!
WineStatistics tasting results:
CARPE DIEM
Feteasca Neagra | 2015
grape: | feteasca neagra |
overall rating: | 91.1 |
maturity: in its prime
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.
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