PRINCE STIRBEY | Merlot | 2011
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.

Tonight we are going to review a wine, we were so eager to try for a couple of years now, but we’ve patiently waited for the right time – Merlot 2011 from Prince Stirbey. This is a merlot wine, which is regarded as the underdog to cabernet sauvignon, frankly speaking, merlot is one of the world’s most underrated grape varieties. It’s so misunderstood, that it can get to this point in a wine conversation, but let’s set the record straight: merlot wine is first class. Let’s find out why – 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 and deep garnet color, with shades of ripe pomegranate towards the rim of the glass.

Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with black fruits flavours mixed with some nuanced savory notes: black cherry, black plum, black currant, black soil, blackberry and some sweet hints of grounded nutmeg. An instant later the nose is filled with notes of roasted wood, soil dust, red pepper, black pepper and some appealing hints of sweet tobacco.

Gustatory
The wine is extra-dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and rough tannin. It tastes earthy and firm, with a nuanced old world profile. This is a quite bold but smooth wine, seedy and well structured, with a mouthfeel that lacks a bit of complexity. The wine has a fair overall balance and a quite nuanced nutty accent.

Aftertaste
It has a long finish and an balanced, bitter-seedy aftertaste.
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This is definitely a great Wine of Romania and the overall rating says the same, with 90.4 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 is a wine on the decline, a wine that is just a bit past its prime form, therefore no more bottle ageing is required. Despite all that, this is a great merlot wine indeed, and because every great wine deserves a great dish, we would strongly recommend to pair this one with meaty or umami-flavored dishes, like for example filet mignon steak or cold cuts like prosciutto or jamón. Enjoy!

WineStatistics tasting results:

PRINCE ȘTIRBEY
Merlot | 2011

grape: | merlot |

region: Romania | Dealurile Olteniei

overall rating: | 90.4 |

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.