EQUINOX | Trei Crai | 2015
merlot | cabernet sauvignon | malbec

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 that that struck the market incognito but became a hit right away – Trei Crai 2015 by Equinox. The wine is a blend of three major french grape varieties: merlot, which form the main body, cabernet sauvignon, which adds structure to the blend, and malbec, responsible for additional color and fruit extract. But what makes this wine really unique, is that fact, that it has no added sulfites and is the first Bio certified local wine, but enough theory, 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 purple shades towards the rim of the glass.

Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with ripe red and blue fruits flavours: ripe sour cherry, redcurrant, ripe blue plum, blackcurrant, chokeberry, wild cherry, blackberry ripe red plum and cherry tree wood. An instant later the nose is filled with elegant notes of red pepper, oakwood, sweetwood, nutmeg, sweet tobacco and some hints of smoked plum.

Gustatory
The wine is dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and ripe tannin. It feels velvety, fruity and noble, with a nuanced ripe and seedy accent. This is a quite tart, round yet firm wine, as it tastes extracted, grippy and delicate, with  touch of alcoholic warmth showing through on the mouthfeel. Overall it has a fair balance between all its elements.

Aftertaste
The wine has a long finish and an fruity, ripe and just a bit tart aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine Wine of Moldova and the overall rating says the same, with 91.1 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 fine wine that is still on the rise, one that is very close to its top form. We believe that it will get there in about 1 to 2 years of bottle ageing in optimal conditions. Despite its youthfulness, it has a firm accent on the palate, with a nicely textured mouthfeel and maybe just a bit too much mouth-watering acidity. Our recommendation would be to pair this wine with meaty dishes with slightly spicy accents, that are rich in natural umami flavours and smooth textures, like for example a filet mignon steak seared in garlic herb butter on the stove and finished in the oven. Cheers!

WineStatistics tasting results:

EQUINOX
Trei Crai | 2015

grape: | merlot | cabernet sauvignon | malbec |

region: Moldova | Stefan-Voda

overall rating: | 91.1 |

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.