LARGA VALLEY | Larga | Chardonnay | 2018
chardonnay

We will be evaluating wines in no particular order on no particular schedule. Just stay tuned and you will never miss our reviews. If the wine is tasted more than once, the rating table will be updated so as to reflect all the new impressions and observations.

Tonight we are going to review a single varietal chardonnay wine with the label Made in Moldova – Larga Chardonnay 2018 by Larga Valley – a new name on the local wine market. Chardonnay is one of the world’s most popular grape variety that is prized for its ability to produce top-quality wines in a wide range of climates and terroirs. Stylistically, there are two main types of chardonnay wines: on one hand we have the classic, creamy and rich, oak-aged style, whereas on the other hand there’s the crisp and refreshing unoaked style. This specific wine has been aged for at least 6 months in oak barrels, but let’s get rid of all that theory. That said, without further ado, let’s move on straight to our tasting results.
___________________________________________________________________________
Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
concentration: pale
color: straw-yellow
clarity: clear
hue/rim: pastel-yellow

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful
fruit profile: green fruits | citrus fruits | stone fruits | tropical fruits
__green fruits: pear | apple | quince | green melon
__citrus fruits: lemon | sweet lemon | asian pear | lemon zest
__stone fruits: apricot | pluot
__tropical fruits: pineapple
fruit character: ripe

//Flavor
non fruit: sweet | oak | herbal
__herbal: pear leaf | straw grass | hay
__oak: french vanilla
__sweet: pear candy
__wood: old / light
aroma: primary | secondary

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: medium
__grip: green
body: med(+)
balance: fair
__dominant: alcohol
complexity: moderate

//Taste
fruit profile: green fruits | citrus fruits
fruit character: ripe
non fruit: sweet
finish: med(+)
aftertaste: seedy-crisp

//Scoring
LARGA VALLEY | Larga | Chardonnay | 2018
variety: chardonnay
country: Moldova
region: Valul lui Traian
rating: 91.0

//Conclusion
maturity: in its prime
verdict: fine
___________________________________________________________________________
This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and with a total of 91.0 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.

Verdict: this is a very fine chardonnay wine that is right there, at the summit of its prime form – a wine that can resist a couple more months of bottle ageing, still we would strongly suggest to drink it sooner rather than later. The wine feels round, supple and slightly oaky, with a nuanced fruity-citrusy profile and a touch of alcoholic warmth on the mouthfeel. This is a quite crisp and well structured chardonnay wine, with a really expressive palate and a bitter-seedy finish, that might create the sensation of a woody wine, yet it is not, those are the after-effects of some very light oak ageing, we suspect a blending technique when a portion of the oaked wine is added to the fresh, unoaked base. The wine is quite balanced overall and is one of those wines that can be served as an aperitif, or alongside the main entrée.

___________________________________________________________________________
© 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.