CARAGIA WINERY | Merlot | 2016
merlot

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Tonight we are going to review a single-varietal merlot wine that has been recently released on the market – Merlot 2016 by Caragia Winery – a wine that has all the prerequisites to become a local legend. This wine is made from merlot grapes sourced from the relatively cool Codru region and it has been aged for at least 18 months in french oak barriques. Merlot is usually regarded as the underdog to the highly priced cabernet sauvignon, but make no mistake here, merlot wine is first class – it’s versatile, ripens earlier than cabernet sauvignon, responds well to oak ageing and can be grown in both, cool and warm climate. This wine is made without compromises – it is intended to highlight the main varietal characteristics of the grapes and the personal vision of the winemaker – this wine is meant for long-term ageing. 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
concentration: deep & noble
colour: ruby
clarity: pale & hazy
hue/rim: ruby

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful
fruit profile: red fruits & black fruits
__red fruits: sour cherry
__black fruits: black cherry | black plum | blackcurrant | blackberry
fruit character: ripe & dried

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | earth
__spice: black pepper | nutmeg | cloves
__oak: liquorice | tobacco | roasted oakwood | smoke | charred wood
__earth: dust | black soil
__wood: new / heavy
aroma: primary | secondary

//Palate
sweetness: bone dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: high
__grip: firm
body: round
balance: good
__dominant: alcohol & acidity
complexity: complex

//Taste
fruit profile: black fruits
fruit character: ripe & dried
non fruit: spice & oak
finish: med(+)
aftertaste: seedy-crisp

//Scoring
CARAGIA WINERY | Merlot | 2016
variety: merlot
country: Moldova
region: Codru
rating: 93.0

//Conclusion
maturity: on the rise
verdict: great
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This is definitely a great wine of Moldova and, with a total of 93.0 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.

Verdict: this is definitely one of the finest merlot wines we’ve tasted so far – firm, bold and muscular – a wine that needs just a bit more time in the bottle (2 to 3 years should suffice) before it will reach its prime form. The wine feels fruity, tannic and powerful, with a nuanced oaky accent and a touch of alcoholic marth on the mouthfeel. It has mouth-watering acidity and and quite grippy tannins, with a full body and a bitter-seedy aftertaste. This is a wine that is mixing palate power with the richness of the fruit – the fruit which in its turn is overshadowed by the woody, oak-infused flavours. What this wine definitely lacks today is some elegance and finesse, which it might gain with the extra time in the bottle, therefore keep it safe for the next 2 or 3 years as this is a great wine indeed. Cheers!

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