Home / Our producers / Cramele Recas / Merlot

Umbrele, Merlot, Vilie Timisului, Romania, 2022

Product code: 2934

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

Grown on a variety of soils, from cracking clay to limestone rich loam. All vineyards are non-irrigated. Trained to vertical shoot positioned trellis with 2 to 4 canes per vine with replacement spurs. Inter vine soil management by cultivation. Yields from 5 to 15 tonnes per hectare.

Winemaking

Crushing and full de stemming on all parcels, with fermentation in stainless steel 40 to 50 tonne tanks with temperature controlled yeast inoculation at 25-32 deg C for about 5-7 days on the skins with regular automated pumpovers. Pressed with some sugar still present. Fermentation finishes off skins, centrifugation off gross lees as soon as dry followed by natural malolactic fermentation

Oak Ageing

No oak ageing

Tasting Note

A dark violet colour is well complimented by rich aromas of dark fruits, plum and blackberry, with notes of spice and a hint of vanilla. Medium bodied, but full of jammy fruit flavours- black current, even a hint of dark chocolate, with warm tannins and a fine finish.