A fantastic red wine you've probably never heard of
Many countries have at least one flagship grape variety. Greece has assyrtiko, Hungary furmint, Germany riesling, Austria gruner veltliner and so on, until you get to the likes of France, Italy and Spain, which have a multitude of signature varietals depending on the region.
The grapes mentioned above are all fairly well-known, but things get tricky when it comes to countries less famed for wine. For example, can you think of any candidates for Romania’s signature variety?
I would have been stumped until a few weeks ago, when I was alerted to feteasca neagra, a red-grape variety which was praised by a wine enthusiast friend after he tasted his way through several bottles while on holiday in Romania. His excitement for the variety was such that I decided to take a closer look.
Of Romania’s 188,000 hectares under vine (the fifth-largest total for a European country), feteasca neagra, which means ‘black girl’, contributes just 3,316ha of that total, which at first glance doesn’t make it flagship material. However, of Romania’s vast area under vine, 83,000ha are classed as ‘interspecific hybrid’ on winesofromania.com, a legacy of the country’s communist past when quantity was prioritised over quality.
In fact, of vitis vinifera plantings, Feteasca Neagra is the most-grown indigenous black variety, accounting for more hectares than pinot noir (2,028ha), but less than cabernet sauvignon (5,344 ha) and merlot (10,994ha).
Plantings are growing (the total stood at 2,500ha about ten years ago) as the grape’s potential is being recognised, and Caroline Gilby MW, an expert in Eastern European wine and author of The wines of Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova, told me: “Feteasca Neagra is becoming Romania's red flagship variety. It is now grown in almost every region and showing itself capable of good to exciting wines, which are able to show a sense of place.
“It offers something different for anyone bored of the usual - producing richly flavoured, bold wines with real personality - bramble, black cherry and cloves in particular and complexity. The best can age well too.”
However, the variety needs managing for its promise to be fulfilled. It’s prone to high yields, which can have a detrimental impact on quality, can ripen unevenly and has high acidity and a high ph value, the latter leaving wines prone to bacterial spoilage if care isn’t taken during winemaking.
With the disintegration of the Soviet Bloc and the resulting privatisation of much of Romania’s wine industry, an increased emphasis on research emerged, and in the last 30 years at least seven clonal selections of feteasca neagra have become available, giving winemakers more options.
Furthermore, the variety is well suited as a blending partner, most commonly with cabernet sauvignon and merlot, and it has been discovered that the use of oak is favourable for increasing aromatic complexity.
The focus of production of quality feteasca neagra is in the Dealu Mare DOC, located in the Oltenia and Muntenia region to the west of the Moldovan Hills. The vineyards in the DOC are situated on hills up to 350 metres, giving excellent exposure to the sometimes fierce sun and also acting as a cooling influence to slow ripening.
Cabernet Sauvignon and merlot are also grown here and producers such as Davino, Ville Metamorfosis (owned by famous Italian producer Antinori) and 1000 de Chipuri all produce excellent quality reds.
Unfortunately Romanian wine is struggling to make its presence felt in the UK, and getting a bottle of single varietal feteasca neagra, or in a blend with cabernet sauvignon or merlot, is tricky. Caroline says: “It takes time to
persuade the trade to take it on, and its exposure can be increased through tastings, masterclasses, visits to Romania (and Moldova) and articles to show the grape's potential and raise awareness.”
The recent CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) Wine Fair that was staged in London has hopefully helped increase awareness, but of Romania’s indigenous varieties, it’s far easier to purchase feteasca regala, the country’s dominant white grape with more than 12,000 hectares grown. Asda sells it as part of its Wine Atlas range, as does Marks & Spencer, which markets the variety under its ‘Expressions’ branding.
Given that M&S stocks a Georgian Saperavi in its ‘Found’ range, it would be nice to think it won’t be long until feteasca neagra gets on to the shelves. In the meantime, if you’re looking for Romanian reds in the supermarket you’re far more likely to come across pinot noir, such as Waitrose’s ‘Blueprint’ for £6.99.
But all is not lost. Virgin Wines stocks Curious Parallel Feteasca Neagra 2022 for £11.99, which is made in the Banat region of Romania, and Slurp has the Selene Feteasca Neagra 2019 for £16.95. Both of these wines are made by Cramele Recas, Romania’s largest wine exporter, as is Nonius 2019 (Slurp, £9.95), a blend of feteasca neagra and shiraz. Oxford Wine Company sells the Dealu Mare 2021 ‘Nomad’ feteasca neagra (£15.50) made by Aurelia Visinescu and it also stocks Alira Concordia’s 2019 Feteasca Neagra Merlot (£22.50).
But for my first taste of the variety I headed to Moldova via Comptoir Cafe & Wine just off Oxford Street. On an otherwise western Europe-dominated wine list I spotted it had Te Wa’s 2019 feteasca neagra. With ripe red fruit and blackberry, together with sweet spice and some cooked fruit (think blackberry tart), the wine reminded me of a decent primitivo from Puglia. Other feteasca neagras will follow, so watch this space.
Flight 29
The Society’s Exhibition Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022 (£18.50 The Wine Society)
Apparently August 18 is pinot noir day, so it seems appropriate to include one wine from that variety in this week’s flight. Central Otago is one of my favourite regions for pinot, and this one doesn’t disappoint. Very pronounced on the nose, with ripe red fruit as well as toasty and smoky notes. Long finish with a savoury edge.
Thorne and Daughters Rocking Horse Cape White 2022 (£11.50 a glass, Vagabond)
A blend of Semillon, Rousanne, chenin blanc and clairette, the semillon hailing from old vines in Franschhoek. Stone fruit and pineapple with some beeswax. Great texture with brioche notes from lees ageing. Still young at will develop more complexity with time – but fantastic to drink now.
Trajarinho Vinho Verde 2022 (£13.95 Pulp)
Made from alvarinho and trajadura, this is citrus-forward which is extremely easy to drink and at 12% abv not too alcoholic. Drunk in Ealing at the Pulp cafe, a terrific place with an excellent, original wine list.