DAC | Dac Rezerv | 2014
cabernet sauvignon | merlot | saperavi

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 blend made of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and saperavi, where the first two are classic Bordeaux grape varieties, that form the main body and structure, while the last one is the key of this blend, as it is an indigenous georgian variety that adds those velvety-leathery notes, which are sought after by the consumer. The wine we’ve selected for the review tonight is Dac Rezerv 2014 from Vinaria Dac. This wine is a bordeaux blend in disguise, due to the saperavi variety, which is one of the most used varieties in local wine blends lately, but enough theory, let’s move on with the tasting and find out just how good this wine is.
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Take a look at the tasting notes bellow and our detailed assessment of the wine:

Visual
Deep and noble garnet color, not too deep nor opaque, with shades of clear rubby towards the rim of the glass.

Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with black fruits and jammy notes: black cherry, blackberry, ripe sour cherry, black plum, black raspberry, blackcurrant jam and black cherry jam. An instant later the nose is filled with notes of black and red pepper, roasted oakwood, nutmeg, leather, tobacco and some nuanced hints of paprika.

Gustatory
The wine is dry, with strong alcohol level, high acidity and ripe tannin. It tastes bold, extracted and spicy, with a nuanced fruity-jammy accent. This is quite muscular and oaky wine, as it feels tart and structured, with overwhelming acidity and spiciness. The wine has a fair overall balance, where barrique dominates over the fruit.

Aftertaste
It has a medium-plus finish and an balanced, hot and spicy aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine Wine of Moldova and the overall rating says the same, with 89.9 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 quite a youthful wine, that has yet to reach its prime form, as it requires at least a couple more years of bottle ageing (2 to 3 more years will suffice) due to its overwhelming acidity. It has plenty of tannic grip on the palate, with a textured character to the mouthfeel and a touch of alcoholic warmth showing through. We would recommend to pair this wine with spicy or highly aromatic meat dishes, like for example a grilled balsamic-garlic steak with thymine or some pan seared steak with asparagus and mushrooms in order to complement and at the same time counter-balance the leathery-spicy flavours in the wine. Enjoy!

WineStatistics tasting results:

DAC
Dac Rezerv | 2014

grape: | cabernet sauvignon | merlot | saperavi |

region: Moldova | Stefan-Voda

overall rating: | 89.9 |

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.