MINIS TERRIOS | Negru Imparat | 2016
merlot | cabernet sauvignon
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Tonight we are going to review a wine blend that is vinified in a classic Bordeaux-style – Negru Imparat 2016 by Minis Terrios. This is a blend of two classic Bordeaux varieties – merlot and cabernet sauvignon, which in fact is the world’s most famous wine blending formula, where cabernet sauvignon forms the main body and structure, building texture due to its firm tannins, while merlot adds smoothness and rounds up the final blend with red fruit flavors and a supple mid-palate. This is the winemaker’s flagship wine, aged for 12 months in new, french oak barrels and signed by Dan Prisacaru, this wine is one of the best local red blends. But enough with all that boring theory, without further ado, let’s move on – straight to the wine tasting!
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:
Visual
Bright and noble ruby color, with hazy pomegranate shades towards the rim of the glass.
Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with ripe red fruits and spicy flavours: sour cherry, redcurrant, red plum, sweet red cherry, black cherry, black plum, black raspberry, cherry tree bark, blackcurrant, blackberry and cherry tree wood. An instant later the nose is filled with nuanced notes of roasted oakwood, cloves, red pepper, nutmeg, sweet wood, sun dried oakwood, sweet tobacco and some subtle hints of vanilla.
Gustatory
The wine is dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and ripe tannin. It feels noble, firm and complex, with an extracted bitter-seedy accent. This is a quite ripe, rich and tannic wine, with a nunced fruit-forward profile. It tastes grippy, muscular and a bit young, with overwhelming acidity and a touch of alcoholic burn on the mouthfeel. The wine has a fair overall balance, with lots of character and an expressive mid-palate.
Aftertaste
The wine has a long finish and a quite pleasing, seedy-tart aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and, with a total of 91.4 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 a very fine wine blend, yet one that is yet too young to be enjoyed – clearly still on the rise, as in its current state it lacks elegance and finesse on the palate. With a nuanced, seedy-tart finale, this wine definitely needs more time to round up and smoothen its edges, therefore we would strongly advocate for at least 2 more years of bottle ageing. Despite its youthfulness, the wine is evolving quite nicely in the glass, thus we would suggest an aeration of 20 to 25 minutes in the glass or in the decanter. In order to highlight the wine’s expresiviness, we would recommend to pair it with meaty dishes rich in spicy accents and natural umami flavours, like for example maple glazed lamb chops or slow cooked barbecued ribs, as all this wine needs is some fat to cut through. Cheers!
WineStatistics tasting results:
MINIS TERRIOS
Negru Imparat | 2016
grape: | merlot | cabernet sauvignon |
overall rating: | 91.4 |
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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WineStatistics is a non-profit community. We produce independent and highly detailed wine reviews.
By training ourselves to stop, take a breath, and pay attention to the subtle elements that distinguish one wine from any other, we learn an important lesson about life – that it’s worth taking the time to slow down and appreciate things that pleases us, from a glass of wine to a great work of art. It’s a simple way to learn to appreciate the little things in life that may in some small way enhance our enjoyment of every day.
In order to continue our work we need support from people like you. People who appreciate our contribution in spreading wine knowledge and raising wine awareness across the borders.
You may now support us by contributing with a one-time donation so that we can review even more wines.
WineStatistics is a non-profit community. We produce independent and highly detailed wine reviews.
By training ourselves to stop, take a breath, and pay attention to the subtle elements that distinguish one wine from any other, we learn an important lesson about life – that it’s worth taking the time to slow down and appreciate things that pleases us, from a glass of wine to a great work of art. It’s a simple way to learn to appreciate the little things in life that may in some small way enhance our enjoyment of every day.
In order to continue our work we need support from people like you. People who appreciate our contribution in spreading wine knowledge and raising wine awareness across the borders.
You may now support us by contributing with a monthly donation so that we can review even more wines.
WineStatistics is a non-profit community. We produce independent and highly detailed wine reviews.
By training ourselves to stop, take a breath, and pay attention to the subtle elements that distinguish one wine from any other, we learn an important lesson about life – that it’s worth taking the time to slow down and appreciate things that pleases us, from a glass of wine to a great work of art. It’s a simple way to learn to appreciate the little things in life that may in some small way enhance our enjoyment of every day.
In order to continue our work we need support from people like you. People who appreciate our contribution in spreading wine knowledge and raising wine awareness across the borders.
You may now support us by contributing with a yearly donation so that we can review even more wines.
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