MINIS TERRIOS | Icewine | 2018
cabernet sauvignon

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Today we are going to review a quite unique wine, as it is not only a delicious dessert wine, but an ice wine – Icewine 2018 by Minis Terrios. The wine has been produced from frozen cabernet sauvignon grapes, thus the resulting juice was highly concentrated in sugars and acids, due to the fact all that the water in the berries was frozen and did not end up into the grape must. Technically, any grape variety can be used for the production of dessert wines, yet there are some varieties that excel more than the others in terms of aromatics. Classic ice wines are one of the treasures of the wine world – made from grapes that are left on the vines to freeze deep into the winter, so that the sugar content increases due to dehydration and frost, as a result the wine becomes even more concentrated. That said, without further ado, let’s move on straight to our tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
concentration: translucent
color: amber
clarity: bright
hue/rim: orange

//Olfactory
intensity: rich
fruit profile: red fruits | berry fruits
__red fruits: red mirabelle | red apple | red plum
__berry fruits: wolfberry | berberry | goji berry
fruit character: unripe | green

//Flavor
non fruit: vegetal | sweet | other
__vegetal: straw grass | hay | nettle | green grass
__sweet: canned strawberry
__other: moist wood | sour apple
__wood: none

//Palate
sweetness: sweet
acidity: med(+)
alcohol: medium
tannin: low
__grip: smooth
body: creamy & round
balance: good
__dominant: acidity
complexity: moderate

//Taste
fruit profile: berry fruits
fruit character: unripe
non fruit: sweet
finish: med(+)
aftertaste: crisp & appealing

//Scoring
MINIS TERRIOS | Icewine | 2018
variety: cabernet sauvignon
country: Moldova
region: Valul lui Traian
rating: 91.5

//Conclusion
maturity: on the rise | developing
verdict: fine | highly recommended
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This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and with a total of 91.5 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.

Verdict: this is a very appealing dessert wine indeed – it’s more of a delicious summer nectar than an actual wine – sweet, round and creamy – a wine that is still developing into the bottle, therefore we would recommend to keep it for another 2 or 3 years. The wine feels oily, supple and crisp, with a slight dissonance between its nose and plate, as the flavour profile is not exactly what one would expect from a dessert wine. Overall this is a very lean and nicely structured ice wine, with some mouth-watering acidity and well integrated alcohol level. It will do great on its own, as an aperitif, or paired with creamy desserts, like for example crème brûlée or panna cotta. Noroc!
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