VALEA ASCUNSA | Feteasca Regala | 2020
feteasca regala

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Today we are also going to review a wine that was unexpectedly good from its very inception – Feteasca Regala 2020 by Valea Ascunsa. This is a single varietal feteasca regala wine, which is one of the most famous and sought after indigenous grape variety in both, Romania and Moldova. Feteasca Regala (which translates as ‘royal maiden‘) has been discovered near Sighisoara (Transylvania) in 1920 and is a grape variety that has been obtained by crossing of feteasca alba and grasa de cotnari indigenous grape varieties. It produces crisp, dry and very aromatic white wines. The grapes for this particular wine are sourced from the Lechinta wine growing area in Transilvania. That said and without further ado, let’s move on straight to our tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
color: straw-yellow color
clarity: peachy-ivory hues

//Olfactory
intensity: rich & nuanced
fruit profile: green fruits | citrus fruits | stone fruits
__green fruits: white apple | asian pear | wild pear | wild apple
__citrus fruits: lemon | pomelo
__stone fruits: yellow mirabelle | green apricot
fruit character: underripe & ripe

//Flavor
non fruit: floral | herbal
__floral: elderflower | linden flower
__herbal: lemongrass | meadow | straw grass
primary layer: fruity-herbal

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: medium+
tannin: none
__grip: green
balance: fair
__dominant: alcohol
body: supple | light

//Taste
fruit profile: green fruits & citrus
fruit character: underripe & ripe
non fruit: floral & herbal
finish: medium
aftertaste: crisp & hot

//Scoring
VALEA ASCUNSA | Feteasca Regala | 2020
variety: feteasca regala
country: Romania | Transilvania
region: Lechinta | Teaca
rating: 90.5

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | drink now or within a year
verdict: nice | enjoyable & quite good
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This is definitely a nice wine of Romania and with a total of 90.5 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 quite supple, a bit austere and angular feteasca regala wine that feels bitter-crisp and a bit tart, with a nuanced phenolic bitterness on the mouthfeel. The wine is still in its development phase, but very close to its peak form, thus we would recommend to drink it today or within the next year in order to enjoy it at its finest, as we firmly believe that 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 underripe and ripe green fruits and citrus in the foreground, followed by a floral-herbal background. On the palate the wine delivers exuberant acidity, a touch of green tannins and an overwhelming alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which evolves into a crisp y-hot aftertaste. All in all, this a very nice feteasca regala wine, that in its current state feels slightly unbalanced, as it lacks harmony and finesse on the palate. We believe that this wine will pair lovely with mahi mahi fish fillets or a pear and lemon summer salad. Cheers!

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