CHATEAU CRISTI | Cuvée Rouge Royal | 2016
cabernet sauvignon | merlot | malbec

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Today we are going to review another wine blend that is vinified in a classic Bordeaux-style – Cuvée Rouge Royal 2016 by Chateau Cristi. A relatively new name on the local market, Chateau Cristi started it’s rebirth in 2015 in the Valul lui Traian region. This is the winemaker’s flagship wine – a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and malbec grape varieties, made in a traditional, Bordeaux-style with 6 months of oak ageing – a wine that was served at the royal court’s table in the old Russian Empire. Blending wines is an art, with every grape variety having its pros and cons. In this particular wine blend, cabernet sauvignon forms the main body and adds character, merlot brings red fruits flavors and a more refined mid-palate, while malbec is all about up-front richness and black fruit flavors. But enough with all that theory, without further ado, on to the wine tasting!
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

Visual
Quite transparent, pale yet noble ruby color with hazy garnet shades towards the rim of the glass.

Olfactory
The nose is rich, filled mostly with ripe red fruit flavours: sour cherry, red plum, sour cherry, redcurrant, cranberry and cherry tree wood. An instant later the nose is filled with elegant notes of oakwood, red pepper, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, sweet tobacco, leather, horse saddle, forest floor, mushroom and some very nuanced irony hints.

Gustatory
The wine is dry, with medium alcohol level, high acidity and green tannins. It feels supple, round and plump, with a velvety-delicate mouthfeel, medium body and a fruity-savory accent. This is a well structured wine blend that is vinified in a old-world style – nicely balanced, harmonious and noble, a wine that lacks a bit of character and complexity on the mouthfeel. It has a fair overall balance between primary fruit and those subtle, oak flavours and it really tastes like a fine and well made wine blend.

Aftertaste
The wine has a long finish and a pleasing, crisp and seedy aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and, with a total of 91.0 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 noble and round wine blend that is still on the rise, yet quite close to its peak form. We would suggest to age it for another year or two in the bottle, just make sure not to overdo it, a sthe wine lacks a bit of structure and character to be able to stand for long time bottle ageing. The wine has a supple and plump mouthfeel, with nuanced fruitiness and subtle woody notes. It feels well balanced to the extent that one will hardly tell that it has ever been oaked. In order to elevate its elegance, we would suggest to pair this wine with meaty dishes that are rich in natural savoriness, like for example a very-rare filet mignon steak or tournedos rossini, so that all the fruitiness in the wine will be perfectly complemented by the umami flavours of the dish. Cheers!

WineStatistics tasting results:

CHATEAU CRISTI
Cuvée Rouge Royal | 2016

grape: | cabernet sauvignon | merlot | malbec |

region: Moldova | Valul lui Traian

overall rating: | 91.0 |

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.