The Vinum company is an uncommon producer among the small wineries. If others would usually emerge from amateur winemaking, then Vinum, rather the opposite, from an abundancy of expertise and, of course, fascination with wine. The point is that its owner, Vladlen Uzhakov, and his company Enogrup Ltd have been offering European complex technological solutions in winemaking for more than 20 years (equipment, materials, advice), assisting other wineries in wines production. Besides that, his family has been growing grapes on this land for more than 200 hundred years, during nine generations. More details about this producer here. A year ago, he launched on the market with his first wines.
I have already written about two wines from Mr. Snob range. Now, two wines from Lalelele mele range found their way to me (the range has five wines in total) and one Mr. Snob – red blend, which offered quite an interesting experience of tasting it repeatedly almost a year later, and seeing how the wine evolved (the whole range consists of only of three wines). The Lalelele mele wines are not oak aged, so one can enjoy the clean expression of the variety with no make-up. According to the old-school quality category, these wines are – selected (quality wines with alcohol by volume not less than 12%, such wines see the market on the year following the year of harvest). I personally like the category of “selected” wines for providing good quality at a decent price. That allows drinking them more frequently than more expensive wines.
The wines in the Lalelele mele range are screw capped. This is just the right thing for wines that did not age in oak. They stay perfectly fresh under it and do not pose the risk of ‘corking’.
Lalelele mele Sauvignon blanc, 2018
I would like to remind you that the Sauvigon blanc wines open up later (you can find out why here). So, a Sauvignon blanc bottle should be opened early, better off an hour before serving it, and put back into the refrigerator uncorked.
Color of the wine shiny light straw. First nose: “duchesse”
pear. A very fresh aroma with a citrus note. The wine leaves legs on the glass.
The aroma opens light notes of jasmine, flint, freshly cut grass (the above photo is very illustrative for the wine). The last to sense is the aroma of currant buds. This wine is not a New World “bomb”, it has a quite eschewing aroma, kind of a “Lovely wine”.
But that is exactly the case when the flavor of Sauvignon blanc may be called crispy. It has a lemon tinge (but not sour), a nuance of bergamot and pineapple. Light, smooth, well-balanced. You can’t stop drinking it for its interesting flavor, which I liked even more than the aroma. There are many wines with nice aromas, but very few with flavor having several taints. Often the flavour of wines is quite terse – just fruit-led, but this is not about Lalelele mele Sauvignon blanc 2018. Alcohol content – 12.6%.
In my opinion, due to its flavour, this wine wins, taking the solo part. Food will only keep away its values.
The Lalelele mele Sauvignon blanc 2018 wine won the bronze medal at the high-profile tasting competition Decanter Asia Wine Awards` 2019.
Lalelele mele Feteasca Neagră 2018
Let the wine breathe a little. For me it became just “Wow!” (I am also a fan of wines from Feteasca Neagră grapes).
Color – red ruby. First nose – black ripe berries. The aroma has dried plum, black dried cherry, blackthorn, black pepper, nutmeg in it, revealing cinnamon later on. Just classics – a very true and typical for the variety, well-made.
The flavor repeats the same berries and the nutmeg tinge, soft ripe tannins, medium body. The flavor is round, 3D as they say. You might ask: “What do they do with the flavor of this wine?” It is very rich, full-body, multidimensional. Alcohol content – 13.5%, which you can’t feel at all, as balanced as it is. A very delightful wine, a good one to have for dinner. It will go well with warm salads (if meat, then it would better be veal), vegetable stew, stewed veal or rabbit with vegetable garnish or potato baked until crisp.
Mr. Snob Cabernet sauvignon – Malbec – Saperavi 2016
A familiar wine for me. My second take happens almost one year later. The wine was bottled in April 2018, meaning that all this time it went through bottle aging. It might be noted that the wine became more mature and a little firmer, you can feel more oak in it. I recommend decanting/aerating it.
The grapes of the Malbec and Saperavi vine was grown close to the Purcari village, while Cabernet Sauvignon – more southward, close to the Tomai village. The variety ratio is the following: Cabernet Sauvignon – 40%, Malbec – 30% and Saperavi – 30%. The wine went through minimum processing.
The color did not change – ruby, with a bright rim around telling of the wine’s young age. On glass walls heavily flow down some glycerin legs (they are a result of alcohol fermentation).
First nose – black wild berries and nightshade (passes on quite quickly) giving away Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. The wine aroma has a smoke taint, prune, chokeberry, black air-dried cherry, black currant with tails, pomegranate skin, black pepper, dried tobacco leaf, nutmeg.
The flavor is dry, a little austere, with fresh acidity. Aeration made the tannins softer. Black currant and dried plum notes, light marmalade taint in the end. Finish – black chocolate. Alcohol content – 13%.
Don’t hesitate to choose steak or grilled pork to this Mr. Snob. Its young contentious tannins will just well compensate a good lab of meat.
Mr. Snob Cabernet sauvignon – Malbec – Saperavi 2016 won silver medals at the Balkan wines International competition` 2019 and Mundus Vini Summer Tasting` 2019:
Under the patronage
The Small Wine Producers Association got the patronage of the Moldova Competitiveness. Project (funded by USAID and the Swedish Government) and of the National Office for Vine and Wine. The Vinum company is managing its wine production independently (after all, the owner has been working in wine consulting for several decades). It has also created the brand by its own efforts. What the small producer needs is the support in the promotion of wines.
“The Moldova Competitiveness Project supports our company, and we much appreciate it, says Vladlen Uzhakov. – Through this, our wines were sent to a few international competitions in Europe, where they won golden and silver medals, and bronze in Asia. Along with other small producers Vinum takes part in various activities promoting wine in Moldova and Romania.
This year we planted a vineyard in the Ialoveni region of two local varieties – Feteasca Neagră and Feteasca Regală. In our opinion, we need to keep up the authenticity, this is the success path for Moldovan winemaking in the global markets. And just before the start of the wine processing season, we opened a primary grape processing facility in Chisinau. Before that, we rented production capacities form one of our colleagues. So, this year we had our first season in our own premises. However, our small production still needs some technological equipment. In this, we also rely on the support of the Moldova Competitiveness Project ».
Where to buy?
“wine.md”- 15 Puskin str., 62 Sciusev str.;
“Vinurile Moldovei” – 124 Stefan cel Mare ave.;
“Embargo” – 51 Puskin str.;
“Vinoteka lux” – 1 Tudor Vladimirescu str.; 10 Cuza Voda ave.
Store chain “Boiar Wine House” (addresses – here).
Store chain “Alcomarket”.
Store chain “Cascadmarket”.
