TE WĀ WINES | Chardonnay | 2019
chardonnay

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Today we are going to review a very special wine – a single-varietal chardonnay that comes from the famous Stefan-Voda region – Chardonnay 2019 by Te Wā Wines. Chardonnay is one of the world’s most popular grape varieties, prized for its flexibility and the ability to produce high-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 oak-aged style that is backed up by winemakers in Napa Valley and most of the Grand Cru in Bourgogne, and on the other hand there’s that crisp and refreshing unoaked style that is promoted mostly by the new-world producers and most of the winemakers in the Chablis region. This specific wine is produced in a limited edition of only 3168 bottles by Te Wā Wines (Te Wā means ‘time will tell‘ in Maori) – a wine project that has been initiated by two wine enthusiasts, whose aim is to create limited edition wines capable to deliver the very best of Moldova’s terroir. 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: pale
color: straw-yellow
clarity: clear
hue/rim: silver-green

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful
fruit profile: green fruits | citrus fruits | tropical fruits
__green fruits: green pear | green apple | gooseberry | quince
__citrus fruits: lemon | lime | kiwi | pomelo
__tropical fruits: pineapple
fruit character: unripe

//Flavor
non fruit: herbal | sweet | other
__floral: marguerite daisy
__sweet: pear candy | dried orange
__other: lemon zest | lime zest
__wood: none

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

//Taste
fruit profile: green fruits & citrus fruits
fruit character: unripe
non fruit: sweet
finish: med(+)
aftertaste: green & zesty

//Scoring
TE WĀ WINES | Chardonnay | 2019
variety: chardonnay
country: Moldova
region: Stefan Voda
rating: 91.7

//Conclusion
maturity: in its prime | drink now
verdict: fine | highly recommended
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This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and with a total of 91.7 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 fine chardonnay wine that is executed in a clear-cut new-world style: zingy, crisp and refreshing, with a pronounced fruity-citrusy profile and a quite opulent and wide palate – a wine that lacks typicity, as it is quite hard to identify the chardonnay in the glass on a blind tasting night. This one here is a completely different beast – zesty, green and bitter-seedy, with an explosion of fruits (mainly green pear, lime and pineapple) and some very nuanced notes of fruit candy. Overall this is a very expressive and appealing wine that feels supple and lean – a wine that is right there, at the summit of its prime form, therefore drink it now or in the next 6 months and pair it with naturally flavoured seafood dishes, like for example some mahi mahi fillets, fresh oysters or a traditional italian shrimp pasta with white sauce dressing. Enjoy!

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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.