DOMENIILE PRINCE MATEI | Merlot – Rezerva | 2012
merlot

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Today we are going to review a wine that is rightfully considered to be a living legend amongst its peers – Merlot – Rezerva 2012 by Domeniile Prince Matei. The domain was previously owned by Vinarte – one of the producers that put romanian single-varietal super-premium wines on the mappemonde. Howether, in 2019, Crama Villa Zorilor is sold to the holding that also owns the famous Via Viticola Sarica Niculitel. The wine itself is one of the best (if not THE best) single-varietal merlot wines of Romania, made of grapes that are sourced from the famous Dealu Mare wine growing region and executed in a classic old-world style, with 12 months of oak ageing (225L and 400L french oak barrels) and a minimum of 12 months of bottle ageing before being released on the market. This merlot wine is made without compromises – it is intended to highlight both, pure varietal characteristics of the grape and the all-important terroir of the Villa Zorilor vineyard. That said, without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
clarity: clear
concentration: deep
colour: garnet
hue/rim: garnet

//Sight
stain: light
viscosity: medium
sediment: none

//Olfactory
outset: clean
intensity: powerful
fruit profile: red fruits | black fruits | blue fruits | berry fruits
__red fruits: sour cherry | cranberry
__black fruits: black cherry | black plum | blackcurrant
fruit character: ripe

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak
__spice: red pepper | black pepper | nutmeg
__oak: vanilla | cinnamon | liquorice | tobacco | oakwood | cherry tree wood
__wood: old | new / roasted
aroma: primary | secondary

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: med(+)
tannin: high
__grip: firm
texture: round
body: full
balance: good
__dominant: acidity
complexity: moderate

//Taste
fruit profile: red fruits | black fruits
fruit character: ripe
non fruit: spice | oak
finish: med(+)
aftertaste: velvety

//Scoring
DOMENIILE PRINCE MATEI | Merlot – Rezerva | 2012
variety: merlot
climate: moderate
country: Romania
region: Dealu Mare
rating: 92.5

//Conclusion
maturity: in its prime
verdict: great
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This is definitely a great wine of Romania 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.

Verdict: this is a classic old-world merlot wine that right there, at the summit of its prime form – a wine that can still benefit from another year or two in the bottle. It is a wine of great quality, one that delivers firm, fine-grained tannins and very crisp, mouth-watering acidity and, with a little more time in the glass, a plethora of delicate spiciness and mesmerizing oaky notes that are sought after by the wine connoisseurs. Prince Matei is one of the best merlot wines we’ve tasted so far – crisp, round and very well structured, with nunced varietal characteristics (ripe red fruits in the foreground and and subtle black fruits in the background) and noble oak-infused flavours that nicely complement the wine’s flavour profile – a wine that is mixing delicatness with finesse.

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