2016 Purcari Negru de Purcari

Community Tasting Notes (3) Avg Score: 91.8 points

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  1/28/2020 - forceberry wrote: 89 Points

  A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Saperavi (25%) and Rara Neagră (5%). Aged for 18 months in French oak barriques. 13,5% alcohol.
  
  Youthful, almost fully opaque blackish-red color with a hint of purple hue. The nose is intense, sweet-toned and quite complex with youthful aromas of ripe cranberries, some juicy blackcurrants, a little bit of peppery spice, light smoky tones of toasted oak, lifted and cooling hints of anise and Sichuan pepper and a sweet touch of strawberry jam. The wine is full-bodied, firm and quite muscular on the palate with silky smooth mouthfeel and bright, slightly sweet-toned flavors of crunchy crowberries, some stony minerality, a little bit of cherry marmalade, light blackcurrant jam tones, a smoky hint of toasty oak and a touch of vanilla. The overall feel is quite concentrated with nice sense of density, but the wine never feels too heavy nor robust. Good structure with high acidity and firm, moderately grippy medium-plus tannins. The finish is juicy, moderately tannic and quite ripe with flavors that start off rather sweet but taper slowly toward drier tones. Lengthy aftertaste of sour cherries, strawberries, some raspberry jam, a little bit of vanilla oak, light cranberry notes, a hint of stony minerality and a touch of alcohol heat.
  
  A remarkably serious, structured and concentrated effort for a Moldovan red. The biggest problem with the Moldovan wines has been their apparently high yields: many of the wines I've tasted have been otherwise pretty good, but they all too often feel surprisingly thin and lacking in substance. This wine certainly does not. The overall feel is perhaps a bit anonymous, veering more towards a polished new world fruit bomb than a positively rustic old world wine, but in its own stylistic spectrum this is a well-made effort that most likely will only benefit from further aging (in the hopes the oakier notes would integrate with the fruit). Probably the best Moldovan red wine I've tasted.

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  12/4/2019 - chatters wrote:

  First Wednesday Wine Club (Napoli in Bocca, Haberfield): Served blind. Sweet spice, black pepper, ripe sweet fruit. Dense, rich, fruit driven, alcohol heat. I guessed young Mediterranean.

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  7/18/2019 - adciobanu wrote: 90 Points

  The best example of this style and one of the best Romanian/Moldovan reds. Very powerful, dark, and tannic, needs time. Difficult to find outside of Eastern Europe.

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