F’AUTOR | *310 Altitudine | Cabernet Sauvignon – Merlot | 2016
cabernet sauvignon | merlot

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The wine we are going to review tonight is neither new nor old, as it was released on the market a couple of seasons ago, yet it is still relatively unnoticed by the wine lovers – *310 Altitudine Cabernet Sauvignon – Merlot 2016 from Fautor Winery. This is a classic Bordeaux blend, made of cabernet sauvignon and merlot grape varieties, where cabernet sauvignon forms the body and structure, while merlot adds the primary fruit and suppleness to the final blend. The wine is part of the *310 Altitudine wine series that consists mainly of fresh, appealing and easy to drink wines that can be enjoyed without too much fuss. That said, without further ado, let’s get straight to the tasting!
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

Visual
Deep and noble garnet color, with hazy ruby shades towards the rim of the glass.

Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with savory flavours and black fruits: blackcurrant, nuanced irony and meaty notes, overripe sour cherry, black soil, black mulberry, beetroot, black plum, overripe blackberry, dried cherry, dried cranberry and nuanced notes of cherry tree wood. An instant later the nose is filled with notes of roasted wood, red and black pepper, nutmeg, allspice and some subtle hints of anise.

Gustatory
The wine is dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and ripe tannin. It tastes hot and spicy, with a quie seedy, yet round and crisp structure, and a touch of alcoholic warmth. This is a quite expressive, complex and fine wine blend – wine that feels angular and a bit off its balance, lacking maybe just a bit of structure and finesse on the mouthfeel. The wine has a fair overall balance, with an bitter-austere accent.

Aftertaste
It has a medium -plus finish and a seedy, hot and spicy aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine Wine of Moldova and the overall rating says the same, with 90.1 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 fine wine blend that is still on the rise – a bit off its balance – a wine that is very close to the summit of its prime form, thus we are strongly advocating for a couple more years of bottle ageing (1 to 2 years should suffice). At the moment the wine feels quite off its balance, as it tastes bitter, crisp and austere, still, the potential is there – all it needs is a bit of patience and care. In order to counter-balance all that angularity in the wine, we would recommend to pair it with meaty dishes that are rich in spicy flavours, like for example a ribeye steak with red wine sauce or some spicy roasted ribs. Enjoy!

WineStatistics tasting results:

F’AUTOR
*310 Altitudine | Cabernet Sauvignon – Merlot | 2016

grape: | cabernet sauvignon | merlot |

region: Moldova | Valul lui Traian

overall rating: | 90.1 |

maturity: on the rise

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.