LARGA VALLEY | Larga | Merlot | 2019
merlot

We will be evaluating wines in no particular order on no particular schedule. Just stay tuned and you will never miss our reviews. If the wine is tasted more than once, the rating table will be updated so as to reflect all the new impressions and observations.

Today we are going to review a single-varietal merlot wine from the Valul lui Traian region, in the south-west of Moldova – Larga Merlot 2019 by Larga Valley – a new name on the local wine market. Merlot is usually regarded as the underdog to the highly priced cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc, but make no mistake, merlot wine is first class – it is more versatile and less coarse than cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc, ripens earlier than both cabernet grapes, responds well to oak ageing and can be grown in both, cool climate and warm climate with the same success, which is not always true for cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. But enough theory – that said and without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results.
___________________________________________________________________________
Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
concentration: medium
colour: ruby
clarity: hazy
hue/rim: garnet

//Olfactory
intensity: rich
fruit profile: red fruits
__red fruits: sour cherry | red plum | red currant | cranberry | pomegranate
fruit character: ripe | overripe

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | earth | other
__spice: red pepper
__earth: turf | brown soil | compost
__other: iron | veal | barnyard | cherry seeds | cherry tree wood
__wood: old / light roast

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: med(+)
alcohol: med(+)
tannin: med(-)
__grip: ripe
body: round | medium
balance: fair
__dominant: acidity | alcohol
complexity: moderate

//Taste
fruit profile: red fruits
fruit character: unripe | ripe
non fruit: spice | earth
finish: med(+)
aftertaste: seedy-tart

//Scoring
LARGA VALLEY | Larga | Merlot | 2019
variety: merlot
country: Moldova
region: Valul lui Traian
rating: 90.3

//Conclusion
maturity: on the rise | developing
verdict: good | recommended
___________________________________________________________________________
This is definitely a good wine of Moldova and, with a total of 90.3 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 very nice merlot wine with a nuanced fruity-earthy accent – a wine that is still too young, as it has yet to reach its prime form, thus a wine that can age for another year or two in the bottle. It tastes tart, seedy and a bit bitter, with a touch of alcoholic warmth showing through on the mouthfeel and a green-tannic finale. The wine feels round, supple and rough at the same time, with a quite angular palate and mouth-watering acidity, that makes the wine taste slightly angular, crisp and bitter-seedy. Overall this is a very fair and appealing merlot wine that will go well alongside dishes with a nuanced irony-meaty accent, like for example a beef tartare or a very-rare filet mignon steak. Drink now through 2022.
___________________________________________________________________________
© 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.