CHATEAU CRISTI | Cabernet Sauvignon | Old Vine | 2016
cabernet sauvignon

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Tonight we are going to review another single-varietal cabernet sauvignon wine – the world’s most popular grape variety and the noblest among reds – Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vine 2016 by Chateau Cristi. A relatively new name on the winemaker’s ever growing list, Chateau Cristi started it’s activity in 2015 in the Valul lui Traian region. This is one of the winemaker’s flagship wines, made from old vine (more than 60 years old) cabernet sauvignon grapes and aged for 6 months in french oak barrels. Old vine tend to lose productivity with age and many believe that this increases the concentration of the grapes, resulting in more concentrated wines. Also, old vine tend to achieve physiological ripeness of the grapes much more consistently as compared to younger vines. But enough with all that theory, without further ado, let’s move on – straight to the tasting!
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

Visual
Pale garnet color, neither deep nor opaque, with hazy copper shades towards the rim of the glass.

Olfactory
The nose is rich, filled mostly with ripe red fruit flavours: sour cherry, redcurrant, red plum, cherry seeds, wolfberry, sweet cherry, cranberry, black plum, cherry tree wood and some insistent hints of penicillin. An instant later the nose is filled with elegant notes of lightly roasted oakwood, almonds, red pepper, dried cherry, nutmeg, sun dried oakwood, black tea and some nunced hints of tobacco.

Gustatory
The wine is extra-dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and ripe tannins. It feels seedy, crisp and grippy, with a firm and bitter mouthfeel, medium-plus body and a fruity, yet not extracted, accent. This is a quite delicate cabernet sauvignon wine – a bit angular, ripe and well structured, that is slightly off its balance, as it lacks elegance and finesse on the plate. The wine has a fair overall balance between primary fruit and oak flavours.

Aftertaste
The wine has a long finish and an balanced, bitter-seedy aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and, with a total of 90.4 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 one of the most delicate cabernet sauvignon wines of Moldova – one that is already there, in its prime form, yet one that needs just a bit of time to smoothen its edges, especially the grippy tannins. Although it can definitely age for another year or two in the bottle, we are strongly advocating to drink it today, as there are wines that might gain some much desired elegance with age, but there are also wines that are elegant enough in their yearly stages and age will only take them down the slope. This particular wine has some very delicate flavours and although they are more on the fruity side, the fruit is not extracted – a trait that most probably is due to the vines’ age. Our suggestion is to pair this wine with meaty dishes with rich spicy-smoky flavours, like for example a slow-smoked porterhouse steak or a pan-seared new york strip steak. Enjoy!

WineStatistics tasting results:

CHATEAU CRISTI
Cabernet Sauvignon | Old Vine | 2016

grape: | cabernet sauvignon |

region: Moldova | Valul lui Traian

overall rating: | 90.4 |

maturity: in its prime

conclusion: fine | (highly recommended)

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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.