DAGON ESTATE | Clearstone | Feteasca Alba Reserve | 2018
feteasca alba
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Tonight we are going to review a wine that conquered our hearts from the first sip – a single-varietal feteasca alba wine from the famous Dealu Mare region in Muntenia – Clearstone Feteasca Alba Reserve 2018 by Dagon Estate. Feteasca Alba is an old, indigenous romanian variety, that dates back for almost two thousand years – a variety that is little known outside of Romania and Moldova. Feteasca Alba wines stand out from the crowd mostly due to their delicate balance and elegance on the palate. There is a rising demand for feteasca alba wines both, on the local market as well as on the international markets and many experts name this variety as one of the visit cards of romanian wines. This particular wine is made of grapes harvested from 40 years-old-vines, planted on a very small area of only 0.9 ha on stony-calcareous-rich soils, on the hillsides near Fintesti in Dealu Mare. The wine has been fermented on wild yeasts in romanian oak vessels and then aged in Burgundy-style oak barrels. As is the norm for those kinds of wines, it has been produced in a limited edition of only 3143 bottles. 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
color: pastel yellow color
clarity: hazy straw-yellow hues
//Olfactory
intensity: powerful with oxidative hints
fruit profile: sweet fruits | stone fruits
__sweet fruits: yellow apple | quince | yellow pear
__stone fruits: apricot | yellow mirabelle | white-flesh plum
fruit character: ripe & overripe
//Flavor
non fruit: herbal | oak | lactic | other
__herbal: straw grass | hay | wildflowers | meadow
__oak: sun-dried oakwood | fresh oakwood | dried banana | subtle hints of vanilla
__lactic: crème brûlée | yeast | yogurt
__other: sour apples | hazelnut | cashew | almonds | hints of elderflower
__wood: old & new | white roast
//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: med(-)
__grip: green
balance: good
__dominant: none
body: round | medium+
//Taste
fruit profile: sweet fruits & stone fruits
fruit character: underripe & ripe
non fruit: herbal & oaky
finish: medium+
aftertaste: crisp & seedy
//Scoring
DAGON ESTATE | Clearstone | Feteasca Alba Reserve | 2018
variety: feteasca alba
country: Romania | Muntenia
region: Dealu Mare | Fintesti
rating: 93.7
//Conclusion
maturity: in its prime | can age for 2-3 years
verdict: great | a must try wine
//Prediction
RP rating: 91
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This is definitely a great wine of Romania and with a total of 93.7 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 a very fine and voluptuous feteasca alba wine that is right there, at the summit of its prime form – a wine that another 2 or 3 years of bottle ageing. It feels round, rich and creamy, with crisp acidity and quite a touch of alcoholic warmth on the mouthfeel. This a very firm and well structured feteasca alba wine, with a medium+ body and seedy-crisp finale – a wine with a pronounced fruity-plump profile and some nuanced, floral-herbaceous hints in the background. The wine might taste a bit angular and rough, mostly due to its high alcohol content and the green character of the tannins, but make no mistake here, this is one of the best, if not the best feteasca alba wine that we’ve tasted so far. In order to elevate the smooth and creamy character of the wine and underline those subtle terroir notes, we would recommend to pair it with creamy pasta dishes, like for example tagliolini with white truffles and butter sauce. 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.
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WineStatistics is a non-profit community. We produce independent and highly detailed wine reviews.
By training ourselves to stop, take a breath, and pay attention to the subtle elements that distinguish one wine from any other, we learn an important lesson about life – that it’s worth taking the time to slow down and appreciate things that pleases us, from a glass of wine to a great work of art. It’s a simple way to learn to appreciate the little things in life that may in some small way enhance our enjoyment of every day.
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WineStatistics is a non-profit community. We produce independent and highly detailed wine reviews.
By training ourselves to stop, take a breath, and pay attention to the subtle elements that distinguish one wine from any other, we learn an important lesson about life – that it’s worth taking the time to slow down and appreciate things that pleases us, from a glass of wine to a great work of art. It’s a simple way to learn to appreciate the little things in life that may in some small way enhance our enjoyment of every day.
In order to continue our work we need support from people like you. People who appreciate our contribution in spreading wine knowledge and raising wine awareness across the borders.
You may now support us by contributing with a monthly donation so that we can review even more wines.
WineStatistics is a non-profit community. We produce independent and highly detailed wine reviews.
By training ourselves to stop, take a breath, and pay attention to the subtle elements that distinguish one wine from any other, we learn an important lesson about life – that it’s worth taking the time to slow down and appreciate things that pleases us, from a glass of wine to a great work of art. It’s a simple way to learn to appreciate the little things in life that may in some small way enhance our enjoyment of every day.
In order to continue our work we need support from people like you. People who appreciate our contribution in spreading wine knowledge and raising wine awareness across the borders.
You may now support us by contributing with a yearly donation so that we can review even more wines.
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