CASTEL MIMÍ | Cabernet Sauvignon | Reserve | 2012
cabernet sauvignon

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Tonight we are going to review a legendary wine that we were eager to try for such a long time, a wine also known as ‘the black label’ – Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2012 by Castel Mimí. This is a single varietal cabernet sauvignon wine – the world’s most popular grape variety, and is part of the winemaker’s ‘Reserve Collection‘, which is the flagship line of  premium wines. This wine has become the symbol of Castel Mimí and, as is the norm for this kind of wines, it has been produced in a very limited edition and aged for 18 months in french oak barrels. The two wines are intended to attest to the winemaker’s skill in producing exclusive, top of the line products, but enough theory, without further ado let’s move on, straight to the tasting and find out how good this wine really is!
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

Visual
Velvety and noble ruby color, with elegant copper shades towards the rim of the glass.

Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with ripe red fruits and spicy flavours: ripe sour cherry, cherry tree wood, black soil dust, ripe cranberry, overripe pomegranate, smoked plum, cherry seeds, ripe blackberry, dried cranberry, cherry tree sap, sweet cherry jam, ripe red plum, sweet wood and sweet tobacco. An instant later the nose is filled with elegant notes of red pepper, nutmeg, anise, roasted oakwood, allspice, black tea, chocolate covered sour cherry and some nuanced hints of cinnamon and sunflower halva.

Gustatory
The wine is dry, with high alcohol level, moderate acidity and ripe tannin. It feels noble, elegant and supple, with a quite seedy-ripe tannic accent. This is a well structured, velvety and complex wine, as it tastes fruity and a bit oaky. The wine feels quite round, lush and very well balanced, with a fine tannic grip on the mouthfeel.

Aftertaste
It has a long finish and a velvety, seedy and elegant aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine Wine of Moldova and the overall rating says the same, with 91.7 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 on the edge of decline, just a bit over its prime form, therefore we would not recommend any more bottle ageing, except if you have a soft spot for these lush and old noble wines. Despite its age, the wine has a fine and ripe tannic grip on the mouthfeel, that leads to a fruity and supple mid-palate, closing in beautifully with a velvety-elegant finish. To be honest, we’ve reviewed this wine a year too late, thus we can only imagine the flamboyance it displayed in its youth. Our recommendation is to pair this wine with meaty dishes rich in smooth textures, like for example tournedos rossini with foie gras and black truffles or wild rabbit liver pâté. Just remember to tame the flavour of the dish, so that it will not take over the elegance of the wine. Noroc!

WineStatistics tasting results:

CASTEL MIMÍ
Cabernet Sauvignon | Reserve | 2012

grape: | cabernet sauvignon |

region: Moldova | Codru

overall rating: | 91.7 |

maturity: over its prime

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.