TE WĀ WINES | Saperavi | 2019
saperavi

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Today we are are going to review a single-varietal saperavi wine from the famous Stefan Voda wine region of Moldova – Saperavi 2019 by Te Wā Wines. Saperavi (which translates into english as color or dye) is Georgia’s main red grape variety and a teinturier grape variety, which means that the flesh of the berry is also dark, thus the resulting wines are very deep in color. The resulting wines are high in natural acidity, with firm tannins, which makes them respond well to ageing. Although Georgia is the birthplace of saperavi, there are a handful of other countries that also grow and produce high-quality saperavi wines, Moldova being one of them. Some even go as far as to affirm that the saperavi wines from Moldova are better that the ones from Georgia, but we all understand that it’s just a matter of taste. Due to the deep color of saperavi wines, in its homeland in Georgia, some wineries label their wines as black wine instead of red wine. In order to preserve the purity of varietal characteristics of those saperavi grapes, this wine has been vinified by applying the minimum intervention technique, where the winemakers only controls the winemaking process, without leaving his own mark on the final wine, leaving the grapes and the place tell the full story. Needless to mention that this wine has been produced in a very limited edition of only 560 bottles, which makes it quite a rarity. But enough with all that 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 purple shades on the rim

//Olfactory
intensity: rich & extracted
fruit profile: black fruits | dried fruits
__black fruits: black plum | black cherry | aronia berry | blackberry
__dried fruits: dried black plum | dried black cherry
fruit character: overripe & dehydrated

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | earth | other
__spice: peppercorn | tonka seeds
__oak: roasted oakwood | tobacco | charred wood
__earth: black soil | dust | pencil lead | charcoal
__other: petrichor | rose hips
primary layer: fruit & oak

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: medium+
tannin: medium-
__grip: seedy
balance: good
__dominant: acidity
body: austere | medium-

//Taste
fruit profile: black fruits
fruit character: ripe & overripe
non fruit: spice | oak | earth
finish: medium-
aftertaste: tart & seedy

//Scoring
TE WĀ WINES | Saperavi | 2019
variety: saperavi
country: Moldova
region: Stefan Voda
rating: 91.9

//Conclusion
maturity: youthful | age for 3 to 4 more years
verdict: fine | highly recommended
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This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and, with a total of 91.9 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 slightly angular, austere and tart saperavi wine, with a seedy-rough palate and a very expressive nose. The wine feels very youthful, as it is still in its development phase, thus it definitely requires at least 3 to 4 more years of bottle ageing, in order to get enough time to round up and smoothen it sharp edges. On the nose the wine brings notes overripe and dehydrated black fruits in the foreground, followed by a nuanced, spicy-oaky background and a very subtle, earthy layer in between. On the palate the wine delivers overwhelming acidity, seedy tannins and a touch of alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which leads to a seedy-tart aftertaste. All in all, this is an ample wine, with a nuanced fruit-forward profile – a wine that in its current state lacks harmony and balance on the palate. We believe this wine has good ageing potential and will definitely improve with additional bottle ageing. Judging by the wine’s structure and its flavour profile, we believe it will pair nicely spicy meats, like for example peppercorn filet mignon steak. Cheers!

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