TARABOSTE | Pur Aristocratic | Rezerva | 2017
cabernet sauvignon | merlot

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Today we are going to review a wine blend that has acquired close to a legendary status over the last decade – Taraboste Pur Aristocratic Rezerva 2017 by Château Vartely. This wine is the winemaker’s flagship red blend and one of the most famous wines with the label ‘Made in Moldova‘ – a blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot grape varieties, where cabernet sauvignon forms the wine’s main body and structure, while merlot adds up-front richness and rounds up the final blend, delivering some much desired smoothness on the finish. The wine is vinified in a classic Bordeaux-style, aged for 23 months in 225L french oak barriques and is part of the Taraboste line, which is a tribute to our dacian ancestors, who set up the old traditions of winemaking. 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: deep ruby color
clarity: hazy ruby shades

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

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | earth
__spice: peppercorn | nutmeg | cloves | tonka
__oak: roasted oakwood | coconut | sweet tobacco | vanilla | hints of charcoal
__earth: hints of graphite & granite
primary layer: fruit & oak

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

//Taste
fruit profile: black fruits
fruit character: ripe & overripe
non fruit: spice & oak
finish: medium+
aftertaste: crisp

//Scoring
TARABOSTE | Pur Aristocratic | Rezerva | 2017
variety: cabernet sauvignon | merlot
country: Moldova
region: Valul lui Traian | Bugeac
rating: 92.7

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | age for 3 to 5 more years
verdict: fine | highly recommended
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This is definitely a fine wine of Moldova and, with a total of 92.7 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 firm, bold and rich wine blend, with a voluptuous palate and a nuanced nose. The wine is still developing, therefore we would recommend to give it another 3 to 5 more years of bottle ageing, in order to allow it to reach its full potential. On the nose the wine brings a mixture of ripe and overripe black fruits and some very nuanced, oak-derived notes in the foreground, followed by a spicy background and a very subtle, earthy layer in between the two. On the palate the wine delivers exuberant acidity, ripe tannins and a firm touch of alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which nicely evolves into a crisp aftertaste. All in all, this is a ripe and well structured wine blend that feels a bit angular – a wine that lacks some harmony and finesse on the palate. For the best food & wine experience, we would recommend to pair it with spicy or barbequed meats, like for example a t-bone or rib eye steak. Cheers!

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© 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.