TERRA DACIA | Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon | 2017
merlot | cabernet sauvignon

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Today we are going to review a very rare wine from the Stefan Voda region – Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 by Terra Dacia. This is the winemaker’s flagship wine, a blend of merlot and cabernet sauvignon, where merlot forms the main body and flavour profile, whereas cabernet sauvignon adds structure and color depth to the blend. This wine is a classic example of a modern Bordeaux blend that was vinified in an already trending, new-world style, aged in new oak barriques in order to gain complexity and produced in a limited edition. That said and without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results below.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
colour: medium ruby
clarity: hazy ruby rim

//Olfactory
intensity: rich & noble
fruit profile: black fruits | blue fruits
__black fruits: black plum | blackberry | blackcurrant | wild black cherry
__blue fruits: blue plum | blueberry
fruit character: ripe & overripe

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | sweet | other
__spice: black pepper | nutmeg | cloves | anise
__oak: roasted oakwood | sweet tobacco | hints of liquorice
__sweet: blueberry jam
__other: tree bark | soil dust | hints of leather
__wood: new / medium roasted

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

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

//Scoring
Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon | 2017
variety: merlot | cabernet sauvignon
country: Moldova
region: Stefan Voda
rating: 92.5

//Conclusion
maturity: youthful | still developing
verdict: great | a must try
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This is definitely a great wine of Moldova 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 definitely a very fine wine blend – a wine that is still developing, thus one that should age for another 2 or 3 years in the bottle. It tastes plump, round and rich, with a ripe tannic grip on the mouthfeel and a bitter-crisp finale. The wine has a nuanced fruity-oaky accent and therefore feels grippy, expressive and extracted, with overwhelming acidity and just a touch of alcoholic warmth on the mouthfeel, which makes the wine taste slightly tart yet appealing nonetheless. This is a quite tannic and full-bodied wine that is yet to young to be enjoyed today, as in its current state it tastes a bit angular, mostly due to the pronounced acidity, hence we are strongly advocating for a couple more years of bottle ageing, so that the wine gets the chance to round up and smoothen its sharp edges. But if you insist to uncork this wine today rather than tomorrow, simply pair it with fat-rich meats, like for example a butter-crusted sirloin steak, so that the wine’s acidity will be countered by the fatness of the dish. Cheers.
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