CRAMA LA SALINA | Issa | Icewine | Sauvignon Blanc | Dulce | #
sauvignon blanc

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Today we are going to review a very rare, single varietal sauvignon blanc wine, as it is not only a delicious dessert wine, but in fact a true ice wine from Dealurile Transilvaniei wine region of Romania – Issa Icewine Sauvignon Blanc Dulce by Crama La Salina. The is an experimental wine, produced from frozen sauvignon blanc grapes, harvested in the middle of the winter from the vineyards planted in close proximity to the famous Turda salt mine. Ice wines are one of the treasures of the wine world: made from grapes that are left on the vines to freeze deep into the winter, so that the sugar content increases due to dehydration and frost and, as a result, the resulting wines are highly concentrated in sugar and acidity. Once you taste a true ice wine, it is really hard to ignore this wonderful gift that a marriage of grapes and cold weather can deliver. Technically, any grape variety can be used for the production of ice wines, yet there are some varieties that excel more than the others for this wine style and sauvignon blanc is one of them. 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: pale gold hues

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful & jammy
fruit profile: dried fruits | fruits jam
__dried fruits: dried pear | dried quince
__fruits jam: quince jam | peach jam | apricot jam | lemon jam | apple jam | white cherry jam
fruit character: dehydrated & jammy

//Flavor
non fruit: herbal | sweet 
__herbal: wheat | hay | pear leaf | straw grass
__sweet: honeycomb | propolis | honey | sweet corn | raisins | beeswax
primary layer: fruit jam | honey

//Palate
sweetness: extra sweet
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: none
__grip: smooth
balance: good
__dominant: sugar & alcohol
body: oily | medium+

//Taste
fruit profile: fruits jam & honey
fruit character: dehydrated & jammy
non fruit: sweet
finish: long
aftertaste: appealingly sweet

//Scoring
CRAMA LA SALINA | Issa | Icewine | Sauvignon Blanc | Dulce | #
variety: sauvignon blanc
country: Romania
region: Transilvania | Dealurile Transilvaniei
rating: 94.6

//Conclusion
maturity: in its prime | drink now or in the next 4-5 years
verdict: great | a must try wine
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This is definitely a great wine of Romania and with a total of 94.6 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 mesmerizingly-delicious dessert wine with an appealingly-sweet mouthfeel and a very expressive, jammy-honeyed aromatic profile. The wine is still in its development phase, therefore we would suggest either to drink it today or age for another 4-5 years. This wine tastes more like a summer elixir than an actual wine: lusciously sweet and oily – a real crowd-pleaser. On the nose the wine brings a mixture of dehydrated and jammy fruits and nuanced honeyed notes in the foreground, supported by a subtle herbal background. On the palate the wine delivers bright acidity and a well integrated alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which evolves nicely into a velvety-sweet aftertaste. All in all, this is a flamboyant, round and well structured ice wine – one of the best we’ve tasted lately. Our recommendation is to pair it with soft cheeses or creamy dessert dishes, like for example lemon fluff, crème brûlée or panna cotta. Simply delicious!

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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.