CRAMA OPRISOR | Cabernet Sauvignon | 2011
cabernet sauvignon

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We’ve decided that the time has come to review something really special tonight – a Wine of Romania, so we’ve switched our attention back to the noble cabernet sauvignon – the emperor among red grape varieties. But we’ve also decided to raise the bar even higher than before, and, as a result, we’ve picked the famous ‘red label‘ Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 from Crama Oprisor. It is part of The Inmost Oltenia wine series, and it is considered one of the finest cabernet sauvignon wine made in Romania.

Let’s take a deeper look at the tasting notes and the wine’s review statistics:

Visual
The wine has a clear garnet color, noble and dense, with the rim-color of a translucent ruby-copper shade.

Olfactory
The nose is strong and elegant, with no signs of wine faults. The first nose is filled with fresh and very ripe fruits, mainly red and wild fruits: sour cherry, blackberry, red plum, blueberry, red apple, wolfberry, overripe red cherry, wildberry, pomegranate and red mulberry. An instant later comes secondary and tertiary notes of oakwood, red pepper, black tea, dried banana, candied sour cherry and the elegant flavor of a light roasted wood.

Gustatory
The wine is extra dry, with no signs of residual sugar. It has high, but very well integrated alcohol level, high acidity and dry tannin, which makes it taste velvety and fruity-delicious. This is a classic, new-world cabernet sauvignon wine – expressive, bold and firm, with a rich, complex and elegant body. This wine has a very good balance, it feels a bit crisp, a bit tannic and a bit astringent, but quite well structured and harmonious overall.

Aftertaste
The wine has a long finish and a velvety, quite persistent aftertaste. It feels crisp and tannic on the mouth-feel, with nuanced spicy notes. This is that kind of wine, one would hope to find in every uncorked bottle – elegant and noble.

This is definitely a great Wine of Romania and the overall rating says the same, with 91.5 points scored it is right there, among the best wines we’ve tasted so far. Please click on the chart icon on the left in order to get to the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines we’ve tasted to date.

Last but not least, we would like to mention that this wine is a perfect example of how good a cabernet sauvignon from Romania can be, a fact underlined by the most respected wine critic – Jancis Robinson. This whole ‘red label‘ wine series has a good ageing potential and a previous vintage of this wine has been awarded a gold medal by Mundus Vini International Wine Award in 2010. But the most fascinating thing about this wine, is that it is some sort of a blend – the wine is blended from 6 different cabernet sauvignon wines, each one vinified separately using different winemaking techniques: aged in new and used oak barrels, with different maturation times and using different oakwood. Quite fascinating.

WineStatistics tasting results:

CRAMA OPRISOR
Cabernet Sauvignon | 2011

grape: | cabernet sauvignon |

region: Romania | Muntenia & Oltenia

overall rating: | 91.5 |

conclusion: great | a must try

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(c) The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. There are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.