BALLA GÉZA | Clarus | Spumante | Brut | 2019
mustoasa de maderat

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 very intriguing sparkling wine from Romania – Clarus Spumante Brut 2019 by ‘Wine Princess’ Balla Géza. Made only from the local, mustoasa de maderat grape variety that originated in the Maderat village and cultivated mostly in the Minis-Maderat region of Transylvania, this sparkling wine is produced using the authentic méthode traditionelle technique, the same way the famous french champagne is made. After the second fermentation in the bottle, the wine spent 9 months on fine lees (sur lie ageing) in order to gain more body, complexity and enhanced creaminess on the palate. This is also a so-called millésime sparkling wine, which means that it was created from a single harvest, that of 2019. That said and without further ado, let’s move on straight to the tasting results.
_________________________________________________________________________
Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
color: pale yellow color
clarity: clear yellow hues

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful & clean
fruit profile: yellow fruits
__yellow fruits: yellow apple | asian pear | quince
fruit character: ripe

//Flavor
non fruit: herbal | yeast
__herbal: hay | straw grass | lemongrass
__yeast: baguette | bread crust | panna cotta | bread crumbs | crème brûlée | dough
primary layer: yeasty

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: medium+
alcohol: medium+
tannin: low
__grip: ripe
balance: good
__dominant: alcohol
body: round & firm | medium+ body

//Taste
fruit profile: yellow fruits
fruit character: underripe
non fruit: lactic & yeasty
finish: medium+
aftertaste: crisp & hot

//Scoring
BALLA GÉZA | Clarus | Spumante | Brut | 2019
variety: mustoasa de maderat
country: Romania
region: Minis-Maderat
rating: 92.8

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | can age for up to 5 more years
verdict: fine | highly recommended
_________________________________________________________________________
This is definitely a fine wine of Romania and with a total of 92.8 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 firm, crisp and complex sparkling wine, with a well structured slightly green palate. The wine is still developing, therefore we would recommend to age it for up to 5 more years, in order to allow it to develop further complexity and roundness, as the potential is clearly there. On the nose it brings a mixture of ripe yellow fruits and yeasty notes in the foreground, followed by a very appealing, herbal background. On the palate the wine delivers mouth-watering acidity and an overwhelming touch of alcoholic warmth on the mouthfeel, which leads to a quite hot and slightly bitter aftertaste. All in all, this is a very fine sparkling wine that lacks just a bit of elegance and finesse on the palate, as it feels a bit rough due to the alcohol bitterness. We would recommend to pair it with pear and arugula salad in order to allow all the wine’s angularity and bitterness to cut through the sweetness and savoriness of the salad. Enjoy!

_________________________________________________________________________
© 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.