PELICAN NEGRU | Velvet Red Blend | 2013
cabernet franc | merlot

WineStatistics will be evaluating wines in no particular order on no particular schedule. Just stay tuned and you will never miss one. If the wine is tasted more than once, the rating table will be updated so as to reflect all the new impressions and observations. The logic is simple – the more we taste, the more we learn.

The wine we are going to review tonight is one of those wines, we will be talking about for quite some time, as this is a blend made of cabernet franc and merlot grape varieties, where cabernet franc forms the body and structure, while merlot adds the primary fruit and some noble character to the final blend. Cabernet franc based wines generally can be described as savory, rich in savory-bell pepper-like flavors, with a medium-plus acidity and mouthwatering taste. But enough theory, let’s move on with the tasting, as the wine we are going to review tonight is Velvet Red Blend 2013 from Pelican Negru.
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Take a look at the tasting notes bellow and our detailed assessment of the wine:

Visual
Noble garnet color, with ripe pomegranate shades towards the rim of the glass.

Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with red fruit: sour cherry, sweet bell pepper, overripe tart cherry, walnut jam, red pepper, nutmeg, allspice, cranberry, paprika, black cherry, ripe pomegranate and some nuanced hints of roasted oakwood.

Gustatory
The wine is dry, with high, but well integrated alcohol level, high acidity and ripe tannin. It tastes spicy, woody and savory – this is a tannic, elegant and complex, with a nice body structure. This is a mix between new-world and old-world – rich, dense, seedy and elegant, with a good overall balance and a quite nuanced acidity.

Aftertaste
The wine has a medium-plus finish and a velvety-silky aftertaste.
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This is definitely a great Wine of Moldova and the overall rating says the same, with 91.4 points scored it is right there, among the best wines we’ve tasted so far. Please click on the chart icon on the left in order to get to the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines we’ve tasted to date.

Conclusion: this wine is very close to its top potential, with just a bit more bottle ageing required (1-2 years) to reach its prime form. We would recommend to pair this wine with peppery and spicy dishes, like for example a medium-rare rib eye steak or some black pepper sauce steak roasted on himalayan pink salt – it’s simply unbelievable how good this pairing is – highly recommended.

WineStatistics tasting results:

PELICAN NEGRU
Velvet Red Blend | 2013

grape: | cabernet franc | merlot |

region: Moldova | Stefan-Voda

overall rating: | 91.4 |

conclusion: great | a must try

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(c) 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. There are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.