EQUINOX | Luchineasa | 2019
rara neagra | syrah

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The wine we are going to review today has struck the market incognito but is slowly becoming a local hit – Luchineasa (Rosu) 2019 by Equinox. This wine is a blend of two grape varieties: rara neagra, which forms the wine’s main body and syrah/shiraz, which adds structure and is responsible for color depth and body. The wine comes from the famous Purcari region in Stefan Voda IGP (more precisely from the Luchineasa vineyard near the Olanesti village) and what makes this wine really special, is that fact that it has been vinified using ecologic viticulture techniques, with no added sulfites, thus being Bio certified. Each variety was handled and vinified separately and only then bottled. Needless to mention that the wine has been produced in a very limited edition, as only 1400 bottles have been made. 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 ruby color
clarity: pale ruby shades

//Olfactory
intensity: rich & herbaceous
fruit profile: red fruits
__red fruits: cranberry | red currant | sour cherry | red plum
fruit character: ripe

//Flavor
non fruit: vegetal | herbal | spice | oak
__vegetal: wormwood | red bell pepper | capsicum | asparagus
__herbal: clover | coriander | basil
__spice: red pepper
__oak: sun-dried oakwood | cherry tree wood
primary layer: fruit

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: medium+
__grip: ripe
balance: fair
__dominant: alcohol
body: supple & lean | medium

//Taste
fruit profile: red fruits
fruit character: ripe
non fruit: spice
finish: medium
aftertaste: crisp & hot

//Scoring
EQUINOX | Luchineasa (Rosu) | 2019
variety: rara neagra | syrah
country: Moldova
region: Stefan Voda
rating: 90.8

//Conclusion
maturity: youthful | drink within the next 2 years
verdict: nice | quite good
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This is definitely a nice wine of Moldova and, with a total of 90.8 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 quite crisp and slightly tart wine blend, with a supple, lean and slightly angular palate. It feels rustic, hot and austere, with fine-grained tannins, overwhelming acidity and a burning-hot alcoholic warmth on the mouthfeel. Nonetheless, this is a very youthful wine that is still developing in the bottle, one that requires time to round up and settle down a bit, therefore another 2 years of bottle ageing will do it good, as the acidity and alcoholic warmth at the moment is a bit too aggressive. On the nose the wine delivers ripe red fruits and some very nuanced herbaceous notes in the foreground, supported by an appealing, spicy-oaky background. All in all, this is a wine that in its current state lacks some balance and harmony, especially on the palate, where it has a slightly tart and hot finale, therefore ageing this wine might be a very good idea, if you are lucky enough to get your hands on a bottle of course. Just remember that it is always better to drink a wine a year too soon than a day too late. Cheers!

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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.