VINARTE WINERY
cellar
A t r e a s u r e t h a t t a k e s y o u b a c k i n t i m e w i t h t r i p l e g u a r a n t e e !
Enjoying a good, well-preserved old wine is always an opportunity to remember and even relive, in a way, years and moments – pleasant ones – that will never return. That’s why in the “strategic reserve” – in the treasure called the Vinarte winery – as many “top” bottles as possible are kept every vintage year (unfortunately, not as many as we would like): to offer loyal connoisseurs opportunities for gustatory and ideational forays into the past and, somehow, even into the future!
In addition to opportunities, the Vinarte winery also offers guarantees. For any ambitious winery, the reserve in the wine cellar (covering several years and several products) is a source of pride in itself and further solid proof of skill and consistent quality over time. At the same time, the winery is also a glimpse into the future, a promise that the unique skills and conditions of that place are preserved and enhanced by the practice accumulated over the years, so that certain wines that have proven their longevity in the past will continue to perform favourably in the future, even if they come from newer vintages.
Fundamental conditions of good wines – such as time, know-how, geographical location, technological updating and vision for the future – come together and are embodied with demonstrative value in a truly valuable wine.
The bottles in the Vinarte winery that go to consumers who know how to appreciate them are accompanied by a triple guarantee: the respective batches are regularly checked on a sample basis by the winery’s specialists, the storage conditions are the best possible and the certificate of authenticity assures the buyer that the bottles are traceable.
Starmina Wine Cellar
P r i n c e M r c e a
2000 - THE UNUSUAL COMPLEXITY AND RICHNESS OF AN ORDINARY YEARr
The 2000 vintage of Prince Mircea 2000 proved the miraculous potential of Merlot grapes even in an otherwise normal year, the wine becoming the pinnacle of the wines made here. It has fascinated VINARTE’s winemakers since the primary wine production stage: the grapes reached the desired ripeness by the end of September, after a hot summer and a long and quiet early autumn with little rainfall.
The intense colour and richness of soft tannins were evident from the start, and after the wine spent more than 12 months in oak barrels it took on intense flavours of dried plums, vanilla and caramel notes. More than twenty years after the vintage, the wine is excellent, with a red-granate colour framed by crimson highlights, elegant scent of ink and tanned leather, with nuances of vanilla and coffee and light sweet hints.
Prince Mircea 2007 was the first wine from Stârmina for which we waited for grapes until the end of October – a somewhat unusual thing, considering that Merlot grapes would normally ripen in late September or early October. The year 2007 brought an unpredictable autumn, with (mostly) sunny days alternating with rainy spells that forced harvesting to be delayed until the end of October. Once in the wine cellar, the grapes showed that the wait was worth it: in addition to good acidity and a wealth of tannins, the wine acquired incredible colour intensity after alcoholic fermentation.
After nearly 14 months in oak barrels, it developed flavours of overripe fruit, notes of vanilla and coffee. At 17 years old, the wine has a restrained character with an acidity that fully supports it. The flavours are also in the same restrained range – tobacco leaf, old wood and fine leather goods – and all of these open up towards the end, after aeration, with lovely aromas of dried, smoky plums.
2008 - VINTAGE OF INCREDIBLE TRANSFORMATIONS
For Prince Mircea 2008, 13 years after the vintage, the key characterization is elegance. That’s what it exudes, and it’s incredible how the wine has transformed over time, becoming a Prince Mircea style benchmark. The year started with a friendly winter, a perfectly normal spring and summer, followed by a long and warm autumn.
After the vintage and primary vinification, the result was a vivid wine, full of colour and ripe tannins, and after 12 months of maturation in oak barrels it became an explosion of flavour and aroma: full, slightly tannic, with sweet sensations and persistent aromas of black fruits and dried plums. Ageing brought out pleasant notes of old wooden box, dried fruit and dried mint. After an aeration of at least 6 hours, the wine opens up – with delightful aromas of overripe black fruits with jammy nuances.
2009 - THE YEAR THAT DID NOT PROMISE ANYTHING REMARKABLE HAS BECOME A SOURCE OF MAXIMUM SATISFACTION
Prince Mircea 2009 embodies the satisfaction and joy that we can produce such wines! The year didn’t promise anything remarkable – spring teased us with a few extra rains, but that was until June – summer was completely normal, followed by a long and warm autumn. We picked the grapes at the beginning of October, and it was incredible how from the first days the grape juice had an unprecedented intensity of colour. Everything went as we wanted, and after the alcoholic fermentation we got a structured, intense, powerful wine.
After more than 12 months in oak barrels, the wine has settled down and has acquired a full and soft taste, with overripe cherry nuances, vanilla and chocolate hints. Now, after so many years of bottle ageing, we are witnessing a real show of elegant flavours: dark chocolate, spices and aromatic herbs, fine nuances of vanilla and sweet sensations.
2010 - PERFECT FOR THE STÂRMINA AREA, WITH THE SKILLS OF AN EMERITUS PROFESSOR
Prince Mircea 2010 reflects an absolutely normal year in terms of temperatures and rainfall, with an autumn within normal limits and the first part of September with temperatures slightly below normal. Vintage, at the end of September, took place in ideal conditions, and the wine obtained proved to be an authentic Stârmina Merlot, a perfect picture of the area: intense colour, specific scent, with ripe fruit and dried plums.
After 15 months in French and Romanian oak barrels and bottle ageing, it revealed an intense colour with garnet hues and an extraordinary aroma. After 14 years, the wine is in excellent shape and exudes strength. The colour, body and flavours are all from the same classic Stârmina Merlot picture – ripe fruit, dried plums, chocolate, light vanilla and caramel nuances, a school wine with the skills of an emeritus professor.
BOLOVANU WINERY
S o a r e
1999 - the birth of a legend
Soare 1999 is the first great wine made exclusively from Cabernet Sauvignon at Castel Bolovanu. The vintage year is a normal one, falling within the normal regime of rainfall and hours of sunshine. The selection of plots and grapes, both in the vineyard and in the wine cellar, have allowed the resulting wine to grow and develop, thus becoming one of the most appreciated Romanian red wines of all times.
The colour has a good intensity, garnet red with slight scarlet reflections. The scent is fine and evolving, a weave of slightly earthy tertiary hints with dried leaves and eucalyptus, gradually opening up to a ripe red fruit. The balance and elegance that it displays in evolution are the result of the perfect combination of time and a wine made for ageing.
were met. The vintage was a quiet one, with optimal temperatures, warm days and cool nights – it was exactly what we wanted!
In the first few months after the wine was drawn off in barrels, we made the decision that when the time came, we would bottle this wine in Magnum bottles as well. It was a great decision!
After 24 years, the wine is showing fine aromas, with leathery nuances blended with spicy flavours. After a few hours of aeration, the wine opens up and surprises with ripe fruit flavours. All this resting time in the cellar has allowed the wine to evolve and offer incredible sensations.
Soare 2001 is a stylish wine that exudes strength. The vintage year was characterised by friendly winter temperatures and ideal weather during the flowering period. The plants responded positively and provided a quantitatively balanced production. A long summer and especially a long autumn followed, which allowed us to “push” the start of the harvest until early October. Under very good conditions, the grapes reached a remarkable ripeness and thus accumulated plenty of structural substance.
The resulting wine was at an incredible level – a fantastic intensity of colour and an army of tannins that were to be matured in French oak barrels. After 24 months of barrel ageing, the wine reached an incredible level. After more than 23 years, the wine is still in great shape, with a red granate colour with scarlet shades, fine tobacco and slightly iodate flavours.
2003 - the friendly face of elegant Cabernets
Soare 2003 surprised us in a very pleasant way when it showed us how kind a wine made from Cabernet Sauvignon from Sâmburești can become after a perfect malolactic conversion in barrels and a maturation period of more than 18 months. Now, after 21 years, the wine has an elegance and finesse that requires preparation in the smallest detail before serving. Within 6-8 hours of aeration, the wine takes us from classic tertiary aromas of old wood box and earthy hints to black berry fruit nuances. The taste is equally smooth and kind, with remarkable persistence.
2004 - SURPRISINGLY WELL REFINED
harvesting Soare grapes at the end of October and ended in the first days of November, with the first nights of negative temperatures.
The resulting wine managed to achieve a good colour intensity and, surprisingly for a Cabernet Sauvignon, a well refined tannin structure right from the start. Now the wine is surprisingly vivid, with an acidity that fully supports the flight of years and still holds the wine up. Decanting – and, by default, aeration – will bring out pleasant aromas, typical of a perfect marriage between a good wine and the flight of time.
2005 - LIMITED EDITION OF FIGHTING AGAINST THE WEATHER
Soare 2005 is one of the wines that were truly produced in a very limited edition due to the capricious winter with very low temperatures. Grape production was limited in quantity and as such the plants had a small amount of grapes, resulting in an average production of only 3,000 kg/ha. Autumn was generous with sunny days and high temperatures. Thus, the few grapes benefited from extraordinary phenolic ripening. The wine is now in excellent shape, with a surprisingly full body and good acidity, fine tertiary aromas and a full and persistent taste.
2006 - two glasses of wine from each vineyard
Soare 2006 is a fascinating wine, which resulted after a year of replanting the vineyards affected by the severe frost at the beginning of 2005. The dry cuttings were carried out very rigorously, precisely so as not to put pressure on the plants. An average production of only 4,000kg/ha was achieved, about one kilogram of grapes per plant. Soare was harvested at the end of October and the grapes were some of the most balanced. The resulting wine was a real delight, and after almost twenty months of maturation in oak barrels it became restrained and tame. Now, it shows complex notes that are not very evolving but just as restrained, and what is remarkable about this wine is that the taste hides well the passage of time and bears the full imprint of the true Cabernet de Sâmburești, through the slightly grassy notes that we can perceive at the beginning of aeration.
2007 - “L’ENFANT TERRIBLE” WITH SOUR CHERRIES, CHOCOLATE AND EUCALIPTUS
with hints of tobacco, leathery tannins and the unmistakable iodate touches characteristic to Cabernet de Sâmburești.