Solevari Reserve, Feteascã Regalã, DOC, Viile Timisului, Romania, 2022

Producer Profile

Back in 1988, three families decided to invest in a winery in Romania, starting with 650 hectares of slightly unloved vineyards and a rusty, once state-owned winery.

Yet Englishman Philip Cox and his Romanian wife Elvira, have turned the Cramele Recas Estate into the most successful winery in Romania. Recas are now recognised globally for their impressive scale and breadth of fascinating wines, including natural and orange wine from organic grapes. Despite the scale the emphasis is on making good wines that over-deliver, and as a result they’ve struck on a magic formula that has seen sales and demand boom. Vineyards are a combination of evolved plantings from 1447 and more recent planting, whilst the winery has seen significant investment and boasts state of the art facilities where innovation thrives. Recas are in every way a modern, dynamic winery, whose open minded approach and quality sets them apart … a winery you really can’t ignore.

Viticulture

Solevari Feteascã Regalã comes from selected areas of the vineyard with fractured Limestone and light iron oxide rich loams, clay soils. Typically they are the areas known to produce better grapes. The grapes are given an extended ripening period to allow development of more intense flavour. The grippy mouth feel, typical for Feteascã Regalã is well expressed in this wine by allowing full fermentation to dryness, to create a sophisticated palate

Winemaking

Night harvested to retain freshness. Grapes destemmed and lightly crushed, cooled and immediately pressed, cooled again then must fully clarified using flotation. Controlled fermentation in stainless steel for 14 days at 13ºC, then a further 30 days in new french oak - Alliers barrique with lees stirring.

Oak Ageing

Time: 30 Days
Type: French Oak
% wine oaked: 100
% new oak: 100

Tasting Note

Golden yellow with greenish reflections, good limpidity. Mineral, with slight tints of black locust flowers and the discovery of white ripped fruits in the background (peaches, pears, pineapple). Good acidity, elegance, present mineralisation, balance and a medium aftertaste.

Food Matching

Caprese salad, chicken or turkey salads, Asian dishes, grilled fish, turkey roll, tuna steak, desserts with vanilla, peaches, mango, pineapple.