UNICORN ESTATE | Equilibrium | Pinot Noir | 2017
pinot noir

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Today we are going to review another single varietal pinot noir wine with the label Made in Moldova – Equilibrium Pinot Noir 2017 by Unicorn Estate. Pinot noir is the most sought after red wine in the world, a variety that is very difficult to grow, as the grape itself is vulnerable, suffering from a variety of diseases and its genetics make it highly susceptible to mutation. Despite the difficulty in growing the grape, pinot noir is capable of producing the very best expressions of ‘terrior’ and in fact, this is the reason why pinot noir is so much appreciated all over the world. The wine is part of the ‘Equilibrium‘ wine line, designed to appeal to the taste of a wide range of consumers: from mere wine enthusiasts to wine experts alike. That said, 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
Medium intensity garnet color, not too deep, with ripe pomegranate hues towards the rim of the glass.

Olfactory
The nose is strong , filled mostly with ripe red fruits and spicy flavours: red cherry, dried cranberry, redcurrant, red plum, candied sour cherry, red apple, cranberry, cooked sour cherry, brown olive, red bell pepper, paprika and wormwood. An instant later the nose is filled with notes of oakwood, red pepper, nutmeg, cloves, anise, cherry tree wood and some nuanced hints of tree bark.

Gustatory
The wine is medium-dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and fine tannin. It tastes lean, round and fruity, with a plump and quite acrid accent. This is a quite supple yet astringent pinot noir wine, as it tastes feels quite angular and off the balance. The wine definitely lacks harmony, structure and elegance on the palate, as the combination of overripe fruit and overwhelming acidity creates a quite unpleasant, cooked sensation on the mouthfeel.

Aftertaste
The wine has a medium finish and a quite acrid, angular and cooked aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fair wine of Moldova and, with a total of 88.5 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 youthful pinot noir wine – round, fruity and acrid – a wine that definitely lacks harmony and structure on the palate. We would advocate for another 12 or 18 months of bottle ageing, so that it will get enough time to settle down and round up its edges, but make sure not to overdo it, as this is a pinot noir after all. That said, if you still decide to give it a go sooner rather than later, simply pair it with fat-rich meaty dishes with slightly spicy accents, like for example an oven-roasted new york strip steak or a pan-seared t-bone steak, in order to allow all that overwhelming acidity in the wine to cut through the textures and fatness of the meat. Cheers!

WineStatistics tasting results:

UNICORN ESTATE
Equilibrium | Pinot Noir | 2017

grape: | pinot noir |

region: Moldova | Stefan-Voda

overall rating: | 88.5 |

maturity: on the rise

conclusion: fair | (quite good)

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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.