PELICAN NEGRU | Silk Red Blend | 2014
cabernet sauvignon | malbec | rara neagra

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 a blend, made of cabernet sauvignon, malbec and rara neagra grape varieties, a wine which name speaks for itself- Silk Red Blend 2014 from Pelican Negru. This is a local version of a non-regular Bordeaux blend, where cabernet sauvignon forms the body and structure, malbec adds complexity and nobility, while rara neagra – the famous indigenous and rare variety, adds the much desired local terrior to the final blend. What makes this wine special, is the way it was aged – in big oak butts made of local oakwood, which is quite impressive. But enough theory, let’s move on with the tasting.
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Take a look at the tasting notes bellow and our detailed assessment of the wine:

Visual
Noble, but not deep garnet color, with shades of purple and indigo towards the rim.

Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with blue and red fruit flavours: ripe sour cherry, red currant, violets, ripe blue plum, lavender, passion fruit, ripe pomegranate and some hints of black mulberry jam. An instant later comes secondary and tertiary notes of red pepper, leather, medium roasted oakwood and some hints of nutmeg.

Gustatory
The wine is dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and smooth tannin. It tastes acrid, lean and fruity, with a nuanced earthiness. This is an opulent, crisp, wide and quite rustic wine, with a fair overall balance between fruit and barrique and a round body.

Aftertaste
It has a medium finish and a balanced, a bit tart aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine Wine of Moldova and the overall rating says the same, with 89.7 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 is a wine yet too young to be uncorked, definitely not yet on its peak form, therefore more bottle ageing is highly recommended (2 to 3 years). Due to its earthy-rustic accents, we would recommend to pair this wine with some fat-rich medium roasted meat or high-protein dishes dressed in sweet wine sauce (honey based dressing will do just fine), as it will form an excellent complementary pairing between wine and food.

WineStatistics tasting results:

PELICAN NEGRU
Silk Red Blend | 2014

grape: | cabernet sauvignon | malbec | rara neagra |

region: Moldova | Stefan-Voda

overall rating: | 89.7 |

conclusion: fine | highly recommended

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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.