ASCONI | Sol Negru | Malbec | 2016
malbec
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Today we are going to review another single varietal malbec wine – one of the world’s most underrated grape varieties – Sol Negru Malbec 2016 by Asconi. Famous for its plump, dark fruit flavors and smoky finish, malbec wines have been adored for many centuries for their elegance and finesse. Malbec typically produces wines that are deep in color, with full-body and high tannins, wines that usually responds well to oak ageing and are a great alternative to the higher priced cabernet sauvignon or merlot wines. But let’s skip all that theory and, 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 but noble ruby color with deep, pomegranate shades towards the rim of the glass.
Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with red and black fruit flavours: blackcurrant, ripe blackberry, ripe sour cherry, black soil dust, black plum, ripe black mulberry, dried black plum, dried plum, dried black cherry, cherry tree wood and delicate hints of cherry tree sap. An instant later the nose is filled with notes of red and black pepper, nutmeg, cloves, tobacco and some subtle hints of walnuts.
Gustatory
The wine is dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and overripe tannins. It feels seedy, supple and tart, with an overripe tannic grip on the mouthfeel and an acrid-spicy, a bit angular finale. This is a quite fruity, nuanced and opulent malbec wine, that tastes a bit bitter yet quite noble, with overwhelming acidity and a touch of alcoholic warmth on the palate. Overall the wine is a bit off its balance, as it lacks harmony and finesse.
Aftertaste
The wine has a long finish and a quite pleasing, yet seedy-tart aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and, with a total of 90.6 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 quite opulent and tart malbec wine – a bit fruity, a bit spicy but definitely angular – a wine that is still too young at the moment. It requires at least a couple more years of bottle ageing in order to smoothen its edges and develop some much desired elegance. That said, it is of important to understand a wine’s limits: there are wines that might gain some much desired finesse with age, yet there are also wines that are elegant enough in their yearly stages and age will only take its toll on them. We have always said that it is always better to drink a wine a year too soon than a day too late. With overwhelming acidity and seedy tannins, we would recommend to pair this wine with fat-rich meats, especially those with highlighted smoky/barbecued flavours, like for example a grilled sirloin steak with tomato basil sauce or a simple grilled t-bone steak, so that all the edges in the wine will be countered by the smokiness of the dish. Noroc!
WineStatistics tasting results:
ASCONI
Sol Negru | Malbec | 2016
grape: | malbec |
overall rating: | 90.6 |
maturity: on the rise
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.
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