MEZALIMPE | King Cab | 2018
cabernet sauvignon

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Today we are going to review a single-varietal cabernet sauvignon wine from the famous Stefan-Voda region – King Cab 2018 by Mezalimpe. Cabernet Sauvignon is grown all over the world in a wide range of climates and regions and it can produce wines that are very high in tannins and acidity, wines that can mature and develop for many years in the bottle. Cabernet Sauvignon is also a late ripening grape variety, which means that it is best suited for warm climates, where it is capable to produce wines that can reach into realms of perfection. This particular wine is made from the grapes that are harvested from 50 years old vines from the Rascaieti area in Stefan Voda region and it has been aged for 18 months in french oak barriques. This wine is signed by Anatolie Iurco, produced in a limited edition of only 5400 bottles – a wine that is definitely 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 & opaque
colour: ruby
clarity: clear
hue/rim: ruby

//Olfactory
intensity: rich
fruit profile: black fruits
__black fruits: black plum | black cherry | blackcurrant | black mulberry
fruit character: ripe & overripe

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | earth
__spice: black pepper | cloves | nutmeg | coriander
__oak: roasted oakwood | liquorice | sweet tobacco | hints of cinnamon
__earth: black soil dust
__wood: new / medium

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

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

//Scoring
MEZALIMPE | King Cab | 2018
variety: cabernet sauvignon
country: Moldova
region: Stefan Voda
rating: 92.9

//Conclusion
maturity: on the rise | developing
verdict: great | a must try
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This is definitely a great wine of Moldova and, with a total of 92.9 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 cabernet sauvignon wines we’ve tasted so far – a wine that definitely needs time in the bottle (at least 4 or 5 more years) before it will its prime form. In its current state the wine tastes firm, muscular and quite tannic, with a nuanced fruit-forward, oaky profile and quite some alcoholic warmth on the mouthfeel. The wine feels rich, bold and grippy, with an extracted full body and a quite complex structure. It has well integrated acidity and some expressive, spicy-oaky notes in the background – this is a wine that is definitely made in an extracted, new-world style. What this wine lacks today is some elegance and finesse on the palate, as there’s still lots of sharp edges in there, which can only mean that this wine requires time to round up and settle down. All in all this is a ripe, round and well structured cabernet sauvignon wine that has all the prerequisites to become a local legend. Cheers!

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