CORTEN | Merlot | 2014
merlot

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Today we are going to review a single-varietal merlot wine from the Valul lui Traian region, in the south-west of Moldova – Merlot 2014 by Corten – a wine that has been aged for 18 months in oak barrels. Merlot is usually regarded as the underdog to its siblings, 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, you see. But enough wit all that theory – that said and 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
colour: pale garnet
clarity: hazy copper

//Olfactory
intensity: rich & meaty
fruit profile: red fruits
__red fruits: sour cherry | red currant | red plum
fruit character: ripe

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | animal | earth | other
__spice: red pepper | anise
__oak: cherry tree wood | tree bark
__animal: veal | iron | leather | capocollo | barnyard
__earth: dust | earth | black soil | compost
__other: cherry seeds | wormwood | notes of medicines/pills | hints of brettanomyces
__wood: old | medium

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: med(+)
alcohol: medium
tannin: medium
__grip: fine
balance: good
__dominant: acidity
body: opulent & supple

//Taste
fruit profile: red fruits
fruit character: ripe
non fruit: earth
finish: med(+)
aftertaste: seedy-crisp

//Scoring
CORTEN | Merlot | 2014
variety: merlot
country: Moldova
region: Valul lui Traian
rating: 90.6

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | can age for 2 more years
verdict: good | recommended
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This is definitely a good wine of Moldova and, with a total of 90.6 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 quite nice merlot wine with a nuanced irony-earthy accent – a wine that is still developing in the bottle, as it has yet to reach the peak of its prime form, thus a wine that can age for another year or two in the bottle. It tastes bitter, crisp and seedy, with well integrated alcohol and a nuanced seedy finale. The wine feels round, supple and slightly opulent, with a fruity-earthy profile, that delivers nuanced bitter and meaty notes on the nose, with some hints of penicillium and brettanomyces in the background. Overall this is a fair and quite 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, so that all the meaty-irony notes in the wine will be complemented by the natural scent of the meats. Drink now through 2022 and aerate at least for 15-20 minutes before serving.
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