Disappointing wine tasting with a rare Moldavian red from the 60's!

Recently I successfully completely the WSET Level 3 course here in beautiful Victoria. Back in 2022, while enrolled in WSET Level 2, and with covid-19 safety protocols in place, Victoria was just starting to enjoy summer in July. I very much looked forward to continuing my path of discovery by writing a wine tasting note!

To encourage my studies, and of course, enjoy a little drink or two with friends, we hosted a wine tasting in mid July, a week before the final exam in the course. Six tasty wines later, we all felt like we had learned a little bit! Jump forward into early September, and I found out I had passed my WSET Level 2 exam! and we invited the same friends over to celebrate.

To celebrate, one couple contributed a wine I completed a write up on for them for tasting on that evening (a wine tasting note, without the tasting!). The Rochu de Purkar 1963.

Please read the write up before the wine tasting note at the end – it will give you some excellent perspective on the depth of history and potential in this fascinating wine region!

Background

Bottle:             Rochu De Purkar 1963
Country:          Moldavia
Description on bottle:            Traditional blend of grape varieties:  60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 5% Malbec. Matured in oak vats for up to four years then bottled and stored in limestone cellars 12 metres below ground at a constant 55 degrees F.
ABV: 11.5%
Producer:  Purkar Winery  – Now known as ‘Purcari Winery’:  https://purcari.wine/en/
Vineyard details (longitude, latitude similarities to Bordeaux):  https://purcari.wine/en/page/history/
Very good article on Wikipedia on its background and current market position:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purcari_(winery)

Country

Moldavia in English = Moldova
“…where Moldova is known for one very good reason. In Russia, in Ukraine, in Latvia, and Uzbekistan, Moldova means wine, and good wine. Look at the emblem of the Moldavian Soviet Soscialist Republic, in existence from 1945 to 1991: Below the obligatory star, hammer, and sickle, is a cornucopia of the grain and fruit for which this small, fertile republic was known. Right in the center sits a fat bunch of grapes.”^[1]

Winemaking Approach

Purcari is made in the surrounding vineyards of the small village which lies in the southeastern tip of Moldova. The vineyards are located about 30 kilometers from the Black Sea, near the Dniester River. The soil there is black, hard and loamy. The grapes of the Purcari wines are picked and harvested by hand. The first fermentation of the grapes takes place in wooden barrels. Then the wines are aged for six to eighteen months in French oak barrels. Thereafter the wine is bottled and remains in the cellars of the estate for a few months.

Challenges with 1963 Bottling, Harvesting

Handwritten bottles (writing on side) was typical, but, sometimes fades over time posing challenges for aging.
Corks are tiny and homemade – not good for aging and likely more prone to oxidization.
Minimal quality control on grapes making the wine – so, good and bad mixed together.
Consistency in wine production lacking at that time (as it was in many wine regions).

What you need to age wine

Flavour concentration (grape just is sufficiently concentrated with flavours to ‘expand’ with age)
Flavours that can develop in a positive way
High acid, tannin or sugar

Summary

Likely a hit or miss. Meaning – may be fine but improbable due to:

Unknown storage challenges
Age
Bottling discrepancies
Short tiny cork – likely oxidization to some extent has occurred
Wine production inconsistencies in Eastern block at time

Another consideration is that traditionally, Moldavian wines can be considered somewhat more ‘oxidized’ in taste than N. American and W. European palates are used to. This is for a number of production reasons which have changed in the last 20 years to align with modern vintner practices in Europe.

Wine Tasting Note

The storage over this wines’ first 30-40 years was unknown. Our friend purchased it at a charity auction about 20 years ago

That all said, we thought we would give it a go for the experience.

The cork fell apart when we pulled it out – it was extremely dry. So, likely oxidized. No mold or other scent to it to denote decay, beyond an earthy scent.

Before I decanted it (we could see the sediment through the light), I poured a small amount in a tasting glass.

Nose: It had a red fruit nose, like strawberry.
Colour: deep brown/tawny – this told me something was off.
Flavour: Taste was somewhat the same
Tannins: minimal to no tannins
Acidity: minimal to no acidity
ABV: although a 11.5% ABV, it felt in my mouth like there was NO alcohol present.
Quality: Some light effervescence which continued in the glass. After decanting for 1 hour, the taste was the same, and the effervescence continued. There was also a fine particulate in the wine which the strainer did not remove. All in all, poor quality.

But, as a newbie to wine tasting, I couldn’t quite figure out if it was just oxidized beyond recognition, or if something else was at play? The normal ‘corked’ smell / taste wasn’t present, and it didn’t have a vinegar tinge to it either.

So I called in the expert – my WSET instructor!

Expert

Shrawan Khanna
Wine/Cider/Spirits Agent
Bona Vini Wines Co
250.507.7860
Volcanic Hills, Howling Bluff, Faustino Cider, Igneous
Delicious International Wine Portfolio – AmoVino
Fabulous Spirits and Bitters Portfolio – Sovereign Canada

Shrawan Khanna is an instructor with Fine Vintage Ltd and well entrenched in the wine community here on Vancouver Island, so I knew he would have some words of wisdom to help guide us through what we experienced.

“Sounds like an interesting experience. Typically a wine of this age will have a cork that disintegrates. unless the bottle has always been stored on its side and the cork always kept wet, it will dry out over time. Not a sign of anything except age.With that kind of age there will be tonnes of sediment.

Could have as much as half the bottle as sediment. The colour and the tannins fall out over time, so will accumulate in the bottle. With only 11.5% alcohol, very low, the wine is a bit doomed unless it has tremendous acidity or great tannin structure. There can be an effervescence that develops over time, slightly an indication of age and slightly an indication of being past its prime. I am guessing the strawberry you got from it is the best fruit expression you would get from a wine this old. The brown colour is normal and what you would want to see for a wine this old. The colour really falls out so brown is all that is left.

Sounds really like the wine was just past its prime. Likely well bottled as you did not get any other indication of spoil on the nose. Too bad that it was not a little more expressive, but a neat experience all the same.”

Exactly what we thought – a cool experience, and one we shared with fellow wine drinkers!