In the wine
industry, there is an endless pursuit to discover wines, new producers, or the
latest style and experiment that will leave our hearts and palates
aflutter. We are eager to discover
something new, or perhaps go back to where thing all began and evaluate how old
wine producing countries are revitalizing themselves. And, when we think about
the Old World, a good a place to start as any, is Romania.
Romania has
had a bit of a turbulent past, which made it difficult to be taken seriously as
a quality wine region. After phylloxera and
military occupation, much of what was planted in the 1960’s and 70’s was selected
for quantity and frost resistance, rather than wine quality. Things have been moving progressively upwards
the past thirty years thanks to an increasing number of privatized wineries and
an effort in planting vines destined for qualitative wines. In 2016,
Romania was ranked 5th in Europe in terms of wine production, with 3.3
million hectolitres, according to the OIV.
With a rich
history that dates back to 4000 years, interesting indigenous grape varieties, and
new up and coming wineries, it seems that Romanian wine is only starting to
showcase its future as a quality wine region.
Budureasca, one of the largest producers in Romania, recently promoted
their wines with an elegant dinner at Bar George here in Montreal. Many wine
professionals from around the city were hosted by Budureasca’s marketing
director Olga Miloiu and winemaker Stephen Donnelly.
Budureasca
is located in the Dealu Mare DOC , in the area of Muntenia. Dealu Mare means ‘big hill’ and some of
Budureasca’s vineyards indeed, reach up to 400 meters in elevation. This, along
with a considerable amount of calcareous soil, make it suited to varieties such
as cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah and indigenous varieties such as feteasca negra and the two white varieties; fetesca alba and feteasca regala.
Budureasca
only started exporting wine about 5 years ago, and has gradually increased its
export, and are available here in Quebec.
17% of their business goes to export,
with a goal of reaching 25% in the next 3 years. The wines that are sold aren’t necessarily
cheap and they are proud to say that they make mid to high end products.
Budureasca
has one of the best equipped wineries in the area, and definitely the most modern. Their cellar covers 5200 square meters, annual
production and storage capacity of 300 million litres of wine and has a bottling
capacity of several thousand bottles per hour.
Impressive.
While the
winery, production stats, and numerous awards are indeed notable, how would the
wine stand up to the experienced palates of wine professionals, journalists and
sommeliers here?
I believe
it was a general feeling, amongst our table at least, with the disappointment in the
lack of wine representing indigenous varieties.
Of the 5 samples poured, 3 were native to Romania. The rest were
international varieties that may or may not have had an indigenous grape in the
blend. Some of wines we sampled were lacking character and excitement. Over extraction, prominence of oak in the
reds, and the aftertaste of the alcohol left a bitter taste on my palate. While
I can understand and appreciate that there is a place in the market for
consumers who enjoy these bolder styles of wine, I wonder if Budureasca would
venture into being a little more experimental and take risks to stand out and
set itself apart; to try and develop wines that do not taste like….well,
everything else.
Two of my
personal favorites of the tasting were coincidentally, indigenous varieties to
Romania, and both white. The Tamâioasa Româneasca Premium 2017, which displayed a lot of vibrancy and
grace, with nice flavours and acidity, making it versatile in the sense that
they can be enjoyed nicely on their own for easy drinking or paired wonderfully
with a variety of dishes. The second - the sweet Tamâioasa
Româneasca Bristena 2017, was very attractive given the balance of fruit intensity,
acidity, and sweetness.
Overall, I feel
like Budureasca is playing it safe when it comes to their production. With their modern winery, ideal climate and a
talented wine making team, Budureasca has every opportunity to be making wines that
express authenticity, complexity and energy; wines that express a taste of
Romania. I am not suggesting that only indigenous varieties equate to quality, it's simply to say that perhaps they should attempt making wines that are a little more honest and rustic, no matter what the varietal.
I would
like to point out, that Budureasca has a large range of wines in their
portfolio, while I had the opportunity to sample 5. I very much look forward to tasting more when
they return for La Grande Degustation de Montreal this fall.
A genuine
thank you to Budureasca for the wonderful opportunity and evening at Bar George.
If this post has peaked your curiosity, you can find Budureasca wines through
private import via Aurelian Mantu from agency Maximpex, or visit Budureasca’s
website at:
* All photos are credited to Budureasca
Tasting
Notes :
Tamâioasa Româneasca Premium 2017
The nose is
quite pleasant, having notes of lime, passionfruit and white flowers. The palate cuts right through to citrus with
intense lime, grapefruit with layers of lychee and with mouth-watering salinity. The palate is round yet very refreshing
leading to nice crisp and refreshing finish.
This is their most successful and popular wine internationally, and in
Romania.
Reserve
Cuvée Origini 2015
The best
grapes go into this blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and shiraz. The nose
is attractive displaying sweet black
cherries, and blackberries with whiffs of cocao nibs and soft spices. The full bodied palate has soft tannins, intense
blackberry, black cherry fruit merging with notes of chocolate and earth. Slightly unbalanced as the wine lacks some
restraint and acidity, finishing with the taste of oak and alcohol. It’s a big wine, needing a meal with bold
flavours.
Noble 5
2016
Great fruit
intensity showing blackberries, and notes of chocolate covered cherries and
cranberries with spiciness and raspy tannins for added texture and complexity. The oak is very evident and takes away from the wine as does that little tinge of alcohol on the palate. The finish is quite nice, with an endearing tarty
flavour of red current. The wine has
seen a mixture of French, American and Romanian oak. Everything is fermented separately then one
year in barrel before blending.
Feteasca
Neagra Premium 2016
This grape
has comparison to shiraz, but the DNA testing shows they are unsure about where
this grape actually comes from. It can
be a bit of a fussy grape to grow and very unpredictable with colour on any
given year, and does not do well with heat.
This particular grape achieves better phenolic ripeness in cooler
vintages.
Aromas of
cherries, raspberries, strawberries with bits of fried fig and raisins in the mix. The medium palate has flavours much the same,
with added notes of earth and an overwhelming taste of oak. The wine had high grained tannin and medium acidity. The wine finishes on intense black fruit and vanilla.
Tamâioasa
Româneasca Bristena 2017
Beautiful
sweet flavours of lychee, candied lemon, and ripe pear with white flowers and
bits of ginger. Lots of body, intense
fruit flavours and subtle saltiness on a very long and pleasant finish. A very vibrant, and delicious wine.
