FÁUTOR | Negre | 2016
feteasca neagra | rara neagra

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The wine we are going to review tonight is one that we hold dear to our hearts, as this is a 100% genuine Wine of Moldova – Negre 2016 by Fáutor Winery. A wine blend that is made only of local, indigenous grape varieties – feteasca neagra and rara neagra, aged for 6 months in french oak barrels and produced in a limited edition of only 12400 bottles. We have already mentioned the enormous potential of these two local varieties, and it seems that we are now witnessing a historical rise in overall quality and popularity of indigenous wines, a rise that has been also mentioned by Andreas Larsson – a swedish sommelier that has been elected the World’s Best Sommelier in 2007. That said, without further ado let’s move on, straight to the tasting and skip all this boring theory!
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

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

Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with red & black fruit flavours: ripe sour cherry, black cherry, blackberry, blackcurrant, black mulberry, black plum, black raspberry, wildberry, ripe red plum and some nuanced hints of cherry tree wood. An instant the nose is filled with elegant nots of red & black pepper, nutmeg, allspice, sweet tobacco, sweetwood, roasted oakwood and some subtle hints of truffle.

Gustatory
The wine is dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and fine tannin. It feels noble, velvety and elegant, with a complex and well structured body. This is a quite bold, fruity and nuanced wine, with an extremely appealing character and a fine-grained tannic grip on the mouthfeel, as it tastes seedy and expressive. It has a good overall balance between all its elements, as it feels crisp, supple and firm, with very subtle, yet velvety oaky notes.

Aftertaste
The wine has a long finish and a velvety, ripe and seedy aftertaste.
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This is definitely an exceptional wine of Moldova and, with a total of 92.5 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Conclusion: this is a very fine wine blend that is yet too young to be enjoyed – a wine that is still on the rise – fruity, elegant and extremely appealing. The wine is almost there, very close to its prime form, therefore we are strongly advocating for another 2 to 3 more years of bottle ageing in order to enjoy it at its finest, but remember that it is always better to drink a wine a year too soon than a day too late. The most amazing thing about this wine, is that despite its fare share of fruit and subtle oak, it does display some very nice rustic irony and leathery hints, which makes it a perfect pairing partner for dishes with smooth textures and natural meaty flavours, like for example tournedos rossini beef medallions with foie gras and truffles or a grilled pepper steak. Noroc!

WineStatistics tasting results:

FÁUTOR
Negre | 2016

grape: | feteasca neagra | rara neagra |

region: Moldova | Valul lui Traian

overall rating: | 92.5 |

maturity: on the rise

conclusion: excellent | (a must try)

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© 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. Just remember that there are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.