ETNOVIN | Mierea Ursului | Ice Wine | 2017
feteasca regala
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Tonight we are going to review an unique wine with the label Made in Moldova – Mierea Ursului Ice Wine 2017 by Etnovin. This wine is unique because this is the only local wine made from frozen feteasca regala grapes. Ice wines are in fact a subtype of dessert wines and are one of the treasures of the wine world – made from grapes that are left on the vines to freeze deep into the winter, thus the sugar content increases due to dehydration and frost. Technically, any grape variety can be used for the production of ice wines, yet there are some varieties that excel more than the others and feteasca regala might be one of them, mostly due to its expressive aromatics and high acidity. That said, let’s skip all that theory and, without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results!
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:
Visual
Bright topaz-yellow color with deep yellow shades towards the rim of the glass.
Olfactory
The nose is rich, filled mostly with sweet fruits and herbaceous flavours: wormwood, dried quince, straw grass, apple seeds, hay, apricot, yellow apple, pear leaf, meadow, overripe yellow pear, wild apple, marguerite daisies, wild flowers, honey, raisins and some very nuanced hints of dried wood.
Gustatory
The wine is sweet, with light alcohol level, high acidity and smooth tannin. This is a quite opulent, wide and lean dessert wine with a smooth, fruity-herbaceous profile. It tastes crisp, light and rustic, with fair balance on the palate and very nuanced notes of sweet dried fruits showing through on the mouthfeel.
Aftertaste
The wine has a medium finish and a quite pleasing, crisp and sweet 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 quite rustic and delicate dessert wine, that is right there, at the peak of its form – a wine that maybe lacks some complexity and structure on the palate. This wine is a time machine, one sip is more than enough to bring back memories of your childhood in the countryside, filled with dried quince, overripe pears and fresh honey. Our insistent recommendation is to drink it today rather than tomorrow, as long as it is still fruity and expressive. In order to elevate the wine’s aromatics, we would suggest to pair this one with light dessert dishes, like for example some quince cheese or walnut, honey & cheese crostini. Noroc!
WineStatistics tasting results:
ETNOVIN
Mierea Ursului | Ice Wine | 2017
grape: | feteasca regala |
overall rating: | 90.0 |
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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