EQUINOX | 5 Elemente | 2018
cabernet sauvignon | rara neagra | syrah | malbec | carmenère

We will be evaluating wines in no particular order on no particular schedule. Just stay tuned and you will never miss our reviews. If the wine is tasted more than once, the rating table will be updated so as to reflect all the new impressions and observations.

Today we are also going to review a truly legendary wine blend that is made with no fewer than 5 grape varieties: cabernet sauvignon, rara neagra, syrah, malbec and carmenère – all of them blended to the point of excellence – 5 Elemente 2018 by Equinox. Wine blending is part science and part art which takes years to master, as the winemakers has to use a combination of technical skills, laboratory analysis and wine tasting in order to achieve the desired results. For this particular wine, each variety has been harvested individually at its optimum ripeness and aged separately for at least 28 months in oak barrels. Only then, the winemaker blended them, turning the five wines into a true legend. More than that, what makes this wine unique is that fact that each version is unique, as the blending formula has never been the same – you can check here the previous versions: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017. But let’s skip that part for now, that said and 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
colour: deep & noble ruby color
clarity: hazy ruby shades at the rim

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful & elegant
fruit profile: red fruits & black fruits
__red fruits: overripe sour cherry
__black fruits: black cherry | black plum | blackberry | aronia berry | blackcurrant
fruit character: ripe & overripe

//Flavor
non fruit: spice & oak | sweet | earthy | other
__spice: red pepper & black pepper | cloves | nutmeg
__oak: roasted oakwood | tobacco | hints of cinnamon
__sweet: black cherry jam | blackcurrant jam
__earthy: black soil dust | black tea | turf
__other: subtle hints of wood varnish
primary layer: fruit

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: high
__grip: ripe
balance: good
__dominant: acidity
body: round | full body

//Taste
fruit profile: black fruits
fruit character: ripe & overripe
non fruit: spice & oak
finish: medium+
aftertaste: tart

//Scoring
EQUINOX | 5 Elemente | 2018
variety: cabernet sauvignon | rara neagra | syrah | malbec | carmenère
country: Moldova
region: Stefan Voda
rating: 92.4

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | age for at least 4 or 5 years
verdict: fine | highly recommended
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This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and, with a total of 92.4 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 wine blend, one that is yet too young to be enjoyed today, as its acidity needs to settle down a little bit. We believe this wine will reach its apogée in the next 4 or 5 years from now. Despite its youthfulness, the wine tastes crisp and round, with a nuanced fruit-forward profile and a tart aftertaste. It feels noble on the nose and grippy on the palate, with overwhelming acidity, ripe tannins and a touch of alcoholic warmth on the mouthfeel. On the aromatic plane, the wine delivers ripe and overripe black fruits in the foreground, complemented nicely by some very nuanced, spicy-oaky flavours in the background, with a layer of earthy-dustiness in between the two. Compared to its previous version, this wine has got more grip and has grown some muscles (merlot variety in the previous version was replaced with cabernet sauvignon in this one), which leads to a more voluptuous body, making it a lot more appealing. What this wine might lack today is some harmony and finesse on the palate, traits that will surely come with time spent in the bottle. All in all, this is a very fine wine blend with a great ageing potential, needles to mention that it was produced in a limited edition of only 3960 bottles.

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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.