SAUSKA | Cuvée 7 | Villány | 2016
cabernet sauvignon | cabernet franc | merlot

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Today we are going to review a wine that we were eager to try for quite some time that comes from the famous Villány region in the south of Hungary – Cuvée 7 Villányi 2016 by Sauska. This is a Bordeaux-blend, a wine that is rightly considered among the best reds of Hungary, made with selected grapes from the winemaker’s best vineyards (Ördögárok, Kopár and Konkoly) – a blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot, with 70% of the blend aged for 15 months in used french oak barriques, with the remaining 30% of the wine aged for the same 15 months in new french oak barriques, in order to provide both: the typicity and purity of the fruit aromatics and the finesse of those much-desired, oak-infused flavours. 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: medium-deep garnet color
clarity: hazy garnet shades on the rim

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful & noble
fruit profile: black fruits
__black fruits: dark plum | black cherry | blackberry
fruit character: ripe & dried

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | sweet | savory | earthy
__spice: red pepper | nutmeg | cloves | anise
__oak: roasted oakwood | chocolate | oaktree bark | tobacco | black tea
__sweet: dried dark plum | dried black cherry
__savory: leather | hints of capocollo
__earthy: black soil | compost | loam
primary layer: savory-earthy

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: medium+
alcohol: medium+
tannin: medium+
__grip: fine
balance: good
__dominant: none
body: supple & round | medium+

//Taste
fruit profile: black fruits
fruit character: ripe
non fruit: spice & oak
finish: medium+
aftertaste: seedy-crisp

//Scoring
SAUSKA | Cuvée 7 | Villány | 2016
variety: cabernet sauvignon | cabernet franc | merlot
country: Hungary
region: Villány
rating: 93.5

//Conclusion
maturity: in its prime | can age for 2 more years
verdict: great | a must try wine
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This is definitely a great wine of Hungary and, with a total of 93.5 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 delicate and harmonious wine blend: lean, supple and rustic – a wine that is right at the summit of its prime form, yet one that can age for another 2 years in the bottle. It tastes crisp, noble and seedy, with fine-grained tannins, well integrated acidity and just a touch of alcoholic warmth on the mouthfeel – a wine that lacks neither harmony nor structure. On the nose the wine displays a delicate, fruity-savory foreground, supported by a very appealing, oaky-earthy background. All in all, this is a very round and well structured Bordeaux-blend, crafted in an old-world style, with a medium+ body and a seedy-crisp finale – a wine that has both, a distinctive personality and the footprint of the Villány terroir. Egészségére!

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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.