WineStatistics will be evaluating wines in no particular order on no particular schedule. Just stay tuned and you will never miss one. If the wine is tasted more than once, the rating table will be updated so as to reflect all the new impressions and observations. The logic is simple – the more we taste, the more we learn.
Tonight we are going to review a legendary, single varietal merlot wine from the ‘Reserve Collection‘, which is the winemaker’s flagship line of premium wines, also known as ‘the black label’ – Merlot Reserve 2012 by Castel Mimí. This wine has become a symbol of Castel Mimí, as it has been produced in a very limited edition and aged for 18 months in french and american oak barrels, intended to attest to the winemaker’s skill in producing an exclusive, top of the line product. Merlot is usually regarded as the underdog to cabernet sauvignon, but make no mistake here – merlot wine is first class, and to further prove it, let’s get rid of the theory and move on straight to the tasting!
Visual
Deep and noble ruby color, with elegant copper shades towards the rim of the glass.
Olfactory
The nose is strong, filled mostly with ripe red and black fruits: ripe sour cherry, sweet wood, cherry seeds, black plum, cherry tree wood, black cherry jam, dried cranberry, smoked plum, ripe blackberry, black plum jam and sweet tobacco. An instant later the nose is filled with elegante notes of red pepper, nutmeg, roasted oakwood, black tea, chocolate covered plum and some nuanced hints of sunflower halva.
Gustatory
The wine is dry, with high alcohol level, high acidity and ripe tannin. It feels oaky, firm and fruity, with a quite ripe and tannic accent. This is a well structured, noble and complex wine, as it tastes woody and elegant. The wine feels quite supple and very well balanced, with a fine tannic grip on the mouthfeel and a velvety finale.
Aftertaste
It has a medium-plus finish and a balanced, seedy and woody aftertaste.
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This is definitely a fine Wine of Moldova and the overall rating says the same, with 91.7 points scored it is right there, among the best wines we’ve tasted so far. Please click on the chart icon on the left in order to get to the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines we’ve tasted to date.
Conclusion: this is a wine on the edge of the decline slope, just a bit over its prime form, therefore we would not recommend any more bottle ageing, except if you have a soft spot for lush and old noble wines. Despite its age, the wine has a very fine and ripe tannic grip on the mouthfeel, that leads to a fruity and supple mid-palate, closing in beautifully with a velvety finish with nuanced woody notes. To be honest this is a wine that is a year too old, thus, in order to amplify its aromatics, we would recommend to pair it with meaty dishes with smooth textures, like for example tournedos rossini steak with black truffles or some creamy mac-and-cheese with aged cheddar. Just remember to tame the flavour of the dish, so that it will not shadow the elegance of the wine. Noroc.
