There are many good wines in Moldova, only a few can be called truly iconic. Fumé Blanc Sauvignon Blanc from Fautor Winery is one of them. The first very successful Sauvignon Blanc from Moldova, aged in oak barrels, which is quite difficult for such wines, as many winemakers from different countries have failed. This wine is not only the success of an individual producer but of the entire industry as a whole, because it demonstrates the potential of Moldovan vinification in the processing of the Sauvignon Blanc grape variety – one of the most popular in the world.
The opinions of famous critics about this wine
In 2018, Fumé Blanc, 2016 became the first white wine in Moldova, to which Mark Squires, a critic of the American magazine “Robert Parker Wine Advocate”, awarded 90 points (at that time the wine was in the range of 90-100 points and was included in the category “remarkable”, according to the Robert Parker system, “the best of its kind”; later this segment was divided into two – 90-95 points and 96-100 points). In particular, the famous critic noted that for Sauvignon Blanc matured in oak, this wine easily retained its character and individuality, he appreciated its impeccable balance and called it “the favourite wine of Moldova” in that edition.
In 2019, Bacchus magazine founder and wine critic Alain Lebel (Canada) also awarded it 90 points, calling this wine original, harmonious and balanced, and recommended it to its readers to get to know it.
In 2021, during the project to promote Moldova as a producer of quality wines in the UK “TOP-100 Moldovan Wines for the market by Jamie Goode”, the British critic Jamie Goode awarded Fumé Blanc, 2018 90 points, characterizing it as a Sauvignon Blanc matured in oak barrique, Bordeaux style. “This wine is quite complex, the oak is well integrated into it and I think it could evolve well in the bottle,” wrote Jamie Goode.
And the famous Russian expert Artur Sarkisyan, in 2021 included Fumé Blanc, 2017 in his wine guide, as one of the best Moldovan wines, writing: “If you want to discover the potential of Moldovan wines, start with this wine. It presents a very clean work of a true master. A perfect integration of fruit and oak shades.”.
Awards
In the four years since it has been on the market, Fumé Blanc wine has won around 50 awards at various international competitions. Of these, 17 gold medals, including at prestigious wine competitions such as the International Wine Challenge` 2019 and 2020 (France), Berliner Wine Trophy` 2020, London Wine Competition` 2020, Mundus Vini` 2020 (Germany) etc.
The awards offered to this wine are attributed to different harvests and the reviews of critics about them indicate that Fumé Blanc is not an accidental success of a winemaker, but indeed a phenomenon of Moldovan winemaking.
Since the last launch, the 2018 harvest, took place only a few months ago, it is worth paying attention to it.
The secrets of the winemaker
Interestingly, all four harvests are somewhat different from each other. From one harvest to another, Fautor Winery winemakers try to perfect their creation.
We mature in barrels, a larger amount of Sauvignon Blanc than we need for the next bottling, to get more components for the future organoleptic mosaic,” says marketing director Ruxanda Lipcan. – Earlier I mentioned that we grow Sauvignon Blanc grapes on three plantations, process them in different ways and experiment with ripening. Thus we obtain wine materials of different styles. They are made from grapes with different degrees of ripeness, therefore differ in the level of alcohol content. Directly, Fumé Blanc contains wine materials with an alcohol content between 11.8% and over 14%, and in the final product – 13.5%. Consequently, they are different organoleptic. French oak barrels – for white and universal wines – also leave their mark on the wine. The share of new barrels – 95%. The maturation period is six months. From these butches, we form coupage variants and we choose, in our opinion, the best one. In Fumé Blanc 2018, grapes from the plantation in the village of Filipeni dominate. Part of the wine has been bottled and another part is stored in stainless steel containers. Another batch may be launched because sales have increased “.
Fumé Blanc, 2018
Wine of a straw-yellow colour, with a glow. The first nose is spicy and fruity. The rich bouquet reveals shades of vanilla, Duchess juicy pears, liquorice, ginger, pineapple, gooseberries, elderflowers and passion fruit. Two hours after opening the bottle, the lime peel aroma appeared.
Creamy texture, pronounced acidity. On the palate – vanilla shade, Duchess pear, liquorice. It is replaced by a long aftertaste, with notes of bergamot and lime.
The peculiarity of the aromas of wines obtained from Sauvignon Blanc grapes is a closed one because the aromatic substances need oxygen to open. Therefore, it is better to decant this wine at least an hour before serving. It would be ideal to pour even a little wine from the bottle so that the contact surface of the wine with atmospheric oxygen increases. Or you can aerate it. These characteristics explain the fact that the next day the wine became more intense.
Because Fumé Blanc is aged in barrels, it can not be called light, so you will not consume much, but it is not necessary – wine requires a caring attitude towards itself, studying the complexity of the nuances of the bouquet and its taste must be done leisurely. This pleasure can be extended since Fumé Blanc from Fautor Winery perfectly preserves its properties in an open bottle, re-closed with an ordinary stopper (not in a vacuum), while it is in the refrigerator. In my case, on the fifth day, it was in excellent shape. Maybe, even more, is possible, but I ran out of wine.
With what we associate it?
An elegant, noble wine must match a gastronomic product of the same level. The dish does not have to be ordinary, but one that he finds on special occasions, from good fish, quality seafood or white meat. If you want something minimal, then surely the red caviar tarts with this wine will make a beautiful combination.
How much does it cost?
The manufacturer’s price for Fumé Blanc has never changed. It costs 260-270 lei on supermarket shelves. In the Fautor Winery office, in Chisinau (23/2 Petru Movilă street) – 195 lei. When selling directly from the manufacturer’s warehouse, there is no minimum purchase threshold. You can limit yourself to a bottle of wine and pay both in cash and with a card.
But the company has revised its pricing policy and concluded that the time has come for an increase because, over the years, the cost of wine production has increased, which much of it is attributed to ageing in barrels, the wine is bottled in, probably one of the most expensive wine bottles on the Moldovan wine market (costs more than 1 euro). Sometimes young, unaged wines, which do not require so much work and cost, cost almost the same.
Where it can be purchased?
Fumé Blanc, 2018 is widely represented in wine shops, supermarkets and online stores in Moldova.
Also exported to Romania, Canada, China, Portugal, USA, Netherlands, Japan, Lithuania, Germany and France.
In addition, you can also order wine in the online store moldovawines.store, which delivers Moldovan wine products not only in Europe but almost worldwide.