TE WĀ WINES | Riesling | 2019
riesling

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Today we are going to review a very special wine – a single-varietal riesling that comes from the famous Stefan-Voda region – Riesling 2019 by Te Wā Wines. Riesling must be the world’s most misunderstood grape variety, as the resulting wines are unlike any others – light in alcohol, very high in natural acidity, with the ability to transmit the terrior through its extract and unique aroma and, what makes it stand out from the crowd, riesling wines are capable of ageing for decades. This wine here is produced in a limited edition of only 3528 bottles by Te Wā (which means ‘time will tell‘ in Maori) – a wine project that has been initiated by two enthusiasts, whose aim is to create limited edition wines capable to deliver the very best of Moldova’s terroir. But enough theory, that said and 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: medium
color: straw-yellow
clarity: bright
hue/rim: green

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful
fruit profile: green fruits | citrus fruits | stone fruits | tropical fruits
__green fruits: green pear | green apple | gooseberry
__citrus fruits: sweet lemon | lime | bergamot
__stone fruits: peach | apricot | nectarine
__tropical fruits: pineapple | dragon fruit | passion fruit
fruit character: ripe

//Flavor
non fruit: floral | sweet
__floral: elderflower | acacia blossom
__sweet: pear candy | lemon candy | lime candy
__wood: none

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: med(+)
alcohol: med(+)
tannin: med(-)
__grip: ripe
body: medium
balance: good
__dominant: tannin
complexity: complex

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

//Scoring
TE WĀ WINES | Riesling | 2019
variety: riesling
country: Moldova
region: Stefan Voda
rating: 93.0

//Conclusion
maturity: in its prime | drink now
verdict: great | a must try
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This is definitely a great wine of Moldova and with a total of 93.0 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 an outstanding riesling wine – one of the best we’ve ever tasted, yet a wine that lacks some typicity, as it is very far away from those classic Mosel rieslings. This one here is a completely different beast – refreshingly crisp, bitter-seedy and expressive, with an explosion of ripe fruits (mainly citrus fruits and tropical fruits) and some very nuanced notes of fruit candy. All in one this is a mesmerizing riesling wine that feels zesty and zingy with some hints of future elegance in there. The wine is right there, at the summit of its prime form – rich, ripe and extremely appealing, with mouth-watering acidity, well integrated alcohol and a quite flamboyant character – drink it now or in the next 12 to 18 months. Just remember that it is always better to drink a wine a year too soon than a day too late. That said, we would suggest to pair this wine with deeply flavoured seafood dishes, like for example some mahi mahi fillets with lemon & garlic dressing.
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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.