CHÂTEAU VARTELY | Cameo | Cuvée Blanc | 2021
chardonnay | sauvignon blanc | riesling

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Today we are going to review a white wine from the relatively cool Codru region in the heart of Moldova – Cameo Cuvée Blanc 2021 by Château Vartely. This wine is a blend of three grape varieties: chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and riesling, where chardonnay forms the wine’s main body and structure, sauvignon blanc adds up-front richness and brings refreshing natural acidity, while riesling rounds the final blend and delivers a more refined mid-palate. 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. 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-white color
clarity: pastel yellow hues

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful & oaky
fruit profile: green fruits | citrus fruits
__green fruits: pear | gooseberry | wild pear | kiwi
__citrus fruits: lime | lemon | green grapefruit | bergamot
fruit character: underripe & ripe

//Flavor
non fruit: herbal | oak
__herbal: currant leaf | lemongrass
__oak: vanilla | sun-dried oakwood
primary layer: fruity-oaky

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: medium-
__grip: oaky
balance: good
__dominant: acidity
body: round | medium

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

//Scoring
CHÂTEAU VARTELY | Cameo | Cuvée Blanc | 2021
variety: chardonnay | sauvignon blanc | riesling
country: Moldova
region: Codru
rating: 92.3

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | drink now or within a year
verdict: fine | highly recommended
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This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and with a total of 92.3 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 crisp, refreshing and extremely appealing wine blend, with a nuanced oakiness both, on the nose and on the mouthfeel – it seems to us that the chardonnay variety was oak aged. The wine is still in its development phase, but quite close to its peak form, thus we would recommend to drink it today or within a 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 very nuanced oaky background and a herbal layer in between (which must come from the sauvignon blanc variety). On the palate the wine delivers exuberant acidity, a touch of oaky tannins and an alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which evolves into a crisp aftertaste. All in all, this a very nice and appealing wine, that in its current state lacks a bit of finesse on the palate. We believe that this wine will pair lovely with Sautéed Oysters or Coquilles Saint-Jacques. 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.