DIVUS WINERY | Ornis | 2019
merlot | feteasca neagra

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The wine we are going to review today has yet to be released on the market, but what a wine it is – Ornis 2019 by Divus Winery. This is the winemaker’s flagship wine – a blend of merlot and feteasca neagra, where feteasca neagra forms the wine’s main body and structure, while merlot is responsible for up-front richness, a more refined mid-palate and lusher finish. 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. In order to preserve the varietal characteristics of the both grape varieties, each variety has been vinified and aged separately: merlot for 14 months and feteasca neagra for 12 months, both in 150-years-old french barrels. The label of this wine hints at the two grape varieties, as feteasca neagra was also known locally as the swallowtail, while merlot name derives from the merla bird – both depicted on the label. But enough theory, 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 & opaque ruby color
clarity: hazy ruby shades on the rim

//Olfactory
intensity: rich & expressive
fruit profile: black fruits
__black fruits: black cherry | blackberry | bramble | black plum | blackcurrant | aronia berry
fruit character: ripe

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | earth
__spice: peppercorn | cloves | nutmeg | tonka seeds
__oak: roasted oakwood | sweet tobacco | liquorice | sun-dried oakwood | hints of coconut & vanilla
__earthy: granite | graphite | black soil dust
primary layer: fruit & oak

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

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

//Scoring
DIVUS WINERY | Ornis | 2019
variety: merlot | feteasca neagra
country: Moldova
region: Valul lui Traian
rating: 93.8

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | needs time | age for 3 to 5 years
verdict: great | a legendary wine
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This is definitely a great wine of Moldova and, with a total of 93.8 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 ripe, rich and expressive wine blend, with a quite extracted nose and a grippy mouthfeel. It is still in the development phase, therefore we would recommend to give it 3 to 5 more years of bottle ageing, in order to allow it to reach its full potential, but don’t overdo it as it is always better to drink a wine a year too soon than a day too late. On the nose the wine brings a mixture of ripe black fruits and some very nuanced oaky notes in the foreground, followed by a spicy background, with a subtle earthy layer in between the two. On the palate the wine delivers exuberant acidity, ripe and seedy tannins and an a touch of alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which leads to a crisp and seedy aftertaste. All in all, this is a firm, plump and bold wine blend with a great ageing potential, as this is a wine that is mixing power with finesse. We believe it might pair quite lovely with naturally-scented meats, like for example beef tenderloin with black truffle sauce. Enjoy!

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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.