GITANA WINERY | Manastirea Rohrbach Cru | 2020
riesling

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Today we are also going to review an emblematic wine from the Valul lui Traian region in the south-west of Moldova – Manastirea Rohrbach Cru 2020 by Gitana Winery. This is a single varietal riesling wine, made from grapes that were harvested late (at the end of November), sourced from the hills where once the german Rohrbach monastery was practicing the art of winemaking. The whole concept behind this wine is inspired by the old german viticulture practices, to the point that even the grape’s clones were imported from Germany and were planted on the best, sun-exposed, walled hills, called crus. Riesling must be the world’s most misunderstood grape variety, as the resulting wines are unlike any others – light in alcohol, high in natural acidity, with the ability to transmit the terrior through its extract and unique aromas and, what makes it stand out from the crowd, riesling wines are capable of ageing for decades. In order to extract extra flavour from the grape skins, this wine was exposed to extended cryomaceration (48 hours) and then, after the fermentation was complete, the wine was aged in oak for 9 months and signed by the famous italian winemaker Nicola Tucci. Needless to mention that it has been produced in a limited edition of only 5500 bottles. But enough theory, 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: deep yellow color
clarity: clear yellow hues

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful & honeyed
fruit profile: sweet fruits | citrus fruits | stone fruits | jam fruits
__sweet fruits: quince | yellow pear | dried quince | dried pear
__citrus fruits: lemon | pomelo
__stone fruits: apricot | dried apricot
__jam fruits: quince jam | apricot jam | lemon jam
fruit character: overripe & dehydrated & jammy

//Flavor
non fruit: herbal | sweet | yeast  | other
__herbal: straw grass | hay | meadow
__sweet: honey | beeswax
__yeast: bisquit | brioche
__other: petroleum | rubber | propolis
primary layer: fruit & jam

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: medium+
tannin: low
__grip: smooth
balance: good
__dominant: acidity
body: lean | medium+

//Taste
fruit profile: sweet & dried fruits
fruit character: overripe & dried
non fruit: leesy
finish: medium+
aftertaste: velvety-crisp

//Scoring
GITANA WINERY | Manastirea Rohrbach Cru | 2020
variety: riesling
country: Moldova
region: Valul lui Traian
rating: 93.3

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | drink now or within the next 2-3 years
verdict: great | a must try wine
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This is definitely a great wine of Moldova and with a total of 93.3 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 lean and round riesling wine that feels smooth, crisp and voluptuous, with nuanced hints of petroleum and honeyed notes on the nose and a creamy, well structured palate. The wine is still in its development phase, therefore we would recommend to give it least 2 or 3 more years of bottle ageing, just make sure you don’t mature it for too long, as it is always better to drink a wine a year too soon than a day too late. Nevertheless, it has a very good ageing potential and if you’re a fan of those noble-mature white wines, this one deserves a chance, as it will clearly improve in terms of complexity and even elegance. On the nose the wine displays a mixture of overripe, dehydrated and jammy sweet fruits in the foreground, followed by some nuanced, herbal and petroleum notes in the background, with a subtle herbaceous layer in between. On the palate the wine delivers mouth-watering acidity and a touch of alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which evolves into a velvety-crisp aftertaste. All in all, this a rich and fine, late harvest riesling wine, definitely one of the best that Moldova has on offer – a wine with very nice varietal typicity of the riesling grape, enhanced by those leesy notes derived from yeast autolysis, which add extra complexity on the palate. We believe this wine will pair lovely with creamy pasta or baked seafood dishes. 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.