TOHANI | Flori de Gheata | Alb Dulce | 2015
tamaioasa romaneasca

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Today we are going to review an unique wine, as it is not only a dessert wine, but an ice wine as well, as the grapes were harvested when the first frost hit the vines – Flori de Gheata Alb Dulce 2015 from Tohani. 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 and, as a result the wine becomes more concentrated. Once you taste a true ice wine, it is really hard to ignore this wonderful gift that a marriage of grapes and a cold climate can offer. This particular wine is made of tamaioasa romaneasca grapes, which is a branch variety of the muscat family. This  is a variety of grapes that is sensitive to frost, drought, excess of moisture, it is easy susceptible to powdery and very sensitive to blight and botrytis. 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
color: deep amber
clarity: bright & deep gold hues

//Olfactory
intensity: rich & pungent
fruit profile: stone fruits
__stone fruits: apricot | peach | nectarine
fruit character: overripe & jammy

//Flavor
non fruit: floral | vegetal | sweet | other
__floral: jasmine | honeysuckle | wild flowers | lily of the valley | peony | rose petals
__vegetal: hay | straw grass | meadow
__sweet: raisins | honey | white cherry jam | apricot jam | peach jam | nectarine jam
__other: almond | hints of oxidation
__wood: none

//Palate
sweetness: sweet
acidity: high
alcohol: med(-)
tannin: low
__grip: ripe
balance: good
__dominant: sugar
body: oily | medium

//Taste
fruit profile: stone fruits
fruit character: overripe & jammy
non fruit: sweet
finish: med(+)
aftertaste: velvety–sweet

//Scoring
TOHANI | Flori de Gheata | Alb Dulce | 2015
variety: tamaioasa romaneasca
country: Romania
region: Dealu Mare
rating: 92.0

//Conclusion
maturity: past its prime
verdict: great | a must try
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This is definitely a great wine of Romania and with a total of 92.0 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 dessert wine seems more like a summer nectar or syrup than an actual wine, yet one that has just passed the summit of its prime and stepped on the decline slope. The wine feels oily, honeyed and extremely appealing, with a nuanced fruity-jammy profile and a creamy palate. It tastes well balanced and quite harmonious overall – a wine that can still age for another year or two in the bottle. This is a quite smooth, round and expressive wine, with mouth-watering acidity and a very sweet and mesmerizing finale. Our suggestion is to drink this wine today rather than tomorrow, as long as it is still rich and flamboyant, as this is a wine that will leave no prisoners: you either love it or hate it. Just get one of these and enjoy! Happy Easter!
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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.