CHÂTEAU VARTELY | Individo | Saperavi | 2017
saperavi

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Tonight we are going to review a single varietal saperavi wine – Individo Saperavi 2017 by Château Vartely. Saperavi is Georgia’s main red variety, that is also planted on substantial areas in Moldova and it is a teinturier grape variety, which means that the flesh of the berry is also dark, therefore the wines are very deep in color, with nuanced acidity and lots of tannin, which makes them respond well to ageing. In fact the resulting wines are so deep in color that some wineries in Georgia label them as black wines instead of red wines. This particular wine has been aged for 12 months in oak barrels and is also part of the ‘Individo‘ wine series, that is a set of 9 wines, each one with its own identity and personality. That said, 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
clarity: clear | hazy | cloudy | misty
brightness: dull | hazy | bright | starbright
concentration: translucent | pale | medium | deep | opaque
color: indigo | purple | ruby | garnet | copper
hue: indigo | purple | ruby | garnet | copper

//Sight
stain: light | medium | heavy
viscosity: low | medium | high
gas evidence: yes | no
sediment: yes | no

//Olfactory
outset: clean | faulty [TCA | sulphur | ethyl acetate | geosmin | brett | oxidation | VA]
intensity: delicate | light | moderate | rich | powerful
fruit profile: red fruits | black fruits | blue fruits | berry fruits
__red fruits: sour cherry | sweet cherry | red plum | red currant | cranberry
__black fruits: black cherry | black plum | blackcurrant | blackberry | black raspberry
__blue fruits: blue plum | blueberry | honeyberry | blue huckleberry
__berry fruits: strawberry | raspberry | wild strawberry | goji berry | wolfberry
fruit character: baked | unripe | ripe | overripe | jammy | dried

//Flavor
non fruit: floral | vegetal | herbal | spice | oak | sweet | animal | earth
__floral: orange blossom | roses | peonies | lilac | violet | lavender
__vegetal: dill | bell pepper | capsicum | asparagus | olive
__herbal: eucalyptus | coriander | currant leaf | tomato leaf
__spice: red pepper | black pepper | nutmeg | cloves | anise | rosemary | ginger | mint
__oak: coconut | vanilla | cinnamon | liquorice | tobacco | coffee | chocolate | smoke
__sweet: caramel | toffee | burnt sugar | molasses | menthol | dried figs
__animal: gravy | capocollo | veal| leather | musk | barnyard | horse saddle
__earth (organic): soil dust | turf | forest floor | compost | mushrooms | truffle
__earth (inorganic): limestone | chalk | slate | flint | aspirin | petroleum | varnish
__wood: [old | new | none] / [dried | roasted | charred]
aroma: primary | secondary | tertiary

//Palate
sweetness: bone dry | dry | off dry | sweet | extra sweet
acidity: low | med(-) | medium | med(+) | high
alcohol: low | med(-) | medium | med(+) | high
tannin: low | med(-) | medium | med(+) | high
__grip: fine | ripe | firm | green | rough
texture: creamy | round | lean
body: light | medium | full
balance: bad | poor | fair | good | fine
__dominant: sugar | acidity | alcohol | tannin | none
complexity: simple | moderate | complex

//Taste
fruit profile: red fruits | black fruits | blue fruits
fruit character: baked | unripe | ripe | overripe | jammy | dried
non fruit: floral | vegetal | herbal | spice | oak | sweet | animal | earth
aroma: primary | secondary | tertiary
finish: short | med(-) | medium | med(+) | long
aftertaste: rough | astringent | seedy | appealing | velvety

//Scoring
CHÂTEAU VARTELY | Individo | Saperavi | 2017
variety: saperavi
origin: old world | new world
climate: cool | moderate | warm
country: Moldova
region: Codru
rating: 91.3

//Conclusion
maturity: on the rise | in its prime | past its prime | on the decline
verdict: fair | good | fine | great | exceptional
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This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and, with a total of 91.3 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.

Verdict: this is a quite fine saperavi wine that is almost there, in its prime form – fruity, ripe and seedy, with nuanced oaky hints, it feels appealing, well settled and noble, with a quite complex and well structured mouthfeel. We would suggest for another 6 to 12 months of bottle ageing, but not more. The wine delivers firm and ripe tannins and, coupled with the nuanced acidity, it tastes round, crisp and supple, with some hints of elegance. Despite its youthfulness, we believe that this is a wine that should be enjoyed today rather than tomorrow, as there are wines that might gain some much desired elegance with age, but there are also wines that does not have the prerequisites for long term bottle ageing, thus enjoying them young and fresh is the better idea.

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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.