TARABOSTE | Tribut | Saperavi | 2017
saperavi

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Today we’ve decided to review a special wine – a single-varietal saperavi wine that is considered to be one of the best local wines – Taraboste Tribut Saperavi 2017 by Château Vartely. Saperavi is a teinturier grape variety, which means that the flesh of the berry is also dark as compared to other varieties, therefore the wines are very deep in color with nuanced acidity and firm tannins, which makes them respond well to ageing. Although Georgia is the birthplace of saperavi, there are a handful of other european countries that also grow and produce high-quality saperavi wines, and Moldova is one of them. Some even go as far as to say that the saperavi wines that are made in Moldova are of a better quality that the ones from Georgia. This particular wine has been aged for 22 months in french oak barrels, with another 8 months in the bottle before being released on the market. 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
concentration: deep
colour: ruby
clarity: clear
hue/rim: purple

//Olfactory
intensity: rich
fruit profile: red fruits | black fruits | blue fruits
__red fruits: sour cherry | wild cherry
__black fruits: blackberry | black plum
__blue fruits: blue plum | blueberry
fruit character: ripe | overripe

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | animal | earth | other
__spice: black pepper | nutmeg
__oak: roasted oakwood
__animal: hints of leather & iron
__earth: black soil | dust
__other: cedar seeds | beetroot | tarmac
__wood: old & new / medium roasted

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: med(+)
__grip: fine
body: round | medium+
balance: good
__dominant: acidity & alcohol
complexity: moderate

//Taste
fruit profile: red fruits | black fruits | blue fruits
fruit character: ripe & overripe
non fruit: spice | oak | earth
finish: med(+)
aftertaste: tart & seedy

//Scoring
TARABOSTE | Tribut | Saperavi | 2017
variety: saperavi
country: Moldova
region: Valul lui Traian
rating: 91.9

//Conclusion
maturity: on the rise | youthful
verdict: fine | highly recommended
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This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and, with a total of 91.9 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 saperavi wine that has yet to reach the summit of its prime form, therefore it will definitely benefit from another 3 or 4 more years of bottle ageing. It tastes supple and round, with a nuanced fruity-earthy profile and overwhelming acidity, which leads to a quite tart and seedy finale. This one here is not the common saperavi style, as there’s little flamboyance in it (which is characteristic for the vast majority of local saperavi wines), instead there are some hints of nobility in there. The wine feels crisp, voluptuous and well structured, with a medium+ body, moderate complexity and a touch of alcoholic warmth on the palate. It might lack a bit of finesse and elegance, as in its current state the wine requires a bit more time in order to settle down the biter-seedy tannins and that tart acidity, still, this is a wine with a great ageing potential, one that will definitely improve with additional bottle ageing. We would recommend to pair it with meaty dishes that are rich in natural irony flavours, like for example a filet mignon steak, served with red wine sauce, just remember to serve the steak as rare as possible, so that it will preserve it’s irony flavours. Cheers!
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