TE WĀ WINES | Pinot Noir | 2019
pinot noir

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Today we are going to review another single-varietal pinot noir wine, this one from the famous Stefan-Voda region in the south of Moldova – Pinot Noir 2019 by Te Wā Wines. Pinot Noir has reached a legendary status over the last decades and today it is the most sought-after red wine in the world. The grape itself is quite vulnerable, suffering from a multitude of diseases and its genetics make it highly susceptible to mutation. But despite all the difficulty to grow pinot noir, when treated with utmost care, it is capable of producing the very best expressions of terrior. This particular wine has been produced in a limited edition of only 2000 bottles, while Te Wā (which means ‘time will tell‘ in Maori) is a wine project initiated by two enthusiasts, whose aim is to create wines that are capable to deliver the very best of Moldova’s southern terroirs. 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: pale to medium purple color
clarity: hazy indigo hues at the rim

//Olfactory
intensity: rich & clean
fruit profile: black fruits
__black fruits: black plum | black cherry | blackcurrant | aronia berry | blackberry
fruit character: overripe & jammy

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | sweet | other
__spice: black pepper | cloves
__oak: roasted oakwood | liquorice
__sweet: blackcurrant jam | black plum jam | dark honey
__other: black soil dust
primary layer: fruit

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

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

//Scoring
TE WĀ WINES | Pinot Noir | 2019
variety: pinot noir
country: Moldova
region: Stefan Voda
rating: 91.6

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | age for 2-3 years
verdict: fine | highly recommended
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This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and, with a total of 91.6 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 interesting pinot noir wine: overripe, extremely rich and expressive – a wine that is still developing in the bottle, therefore one that can age for 2 or 3 more years in the bottle. It tastes ripe and plump, with overwhelming alcohol, elevated acidity and a firm tannic grip on the mouthfeel, which leads to a crisp and bitter-seedy finale. This is a pinot noir wine that lacks harmony and finesse on the palate, as in its current state it feels too extracted (with overwhelming jamminess) and slightly angular (mostly due to the dominant alcohol and acidity). On the nose the wine delivers overripe and jammy black fruits in the foreground, supported by some very nuanced, sweet and spicy accents in the background. All in all this is a quite nice wine, that is slightly rough on the palate, but with a pleasantly seedy bitterness on the mouthfeel – a wine that needs a bit of time to round up and one that will do well if paired with meaty dishes that are rich in sweet accents, like for example a barbequed beef steak with baked camembert and blackberry jam. Cheers!

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