VINARIA JUGRESTAN | Ortoman | 2018
cabernet sauvignon

We will be evaluating wines in no particular order on no particular schedule. Just stay tuned and you will never miss our reviews. If the wine is tasted more than once, the rating table will be updated so as to reflect all the new impressions and observations.

Today we are going to review a single varietal cabernet sauvignon wine from a little known wine region in Maramures, Dealurile Satmarului – Ortoman 2018 by Vinaria Jugrestan. Cabernet Sauvignon is grown all over the world in a wide range of climates and regions and it can produce wines that are high in tannins and natural acidity, wines that can mature and develop for many years in the bottle and, because cabernet sauvignon is a late ripening grape variety, it is best suited for warmer climates. In Romania, the cabernet sauvignon variety was introduced at the start of 20th century, after the phylloxera disaster and since then, it has excelled as a variety that suits amazingly well the southern terroirs. This particular wine is microvinification at its finest, made of only late harvest grapes, aged for 12 months in one single oak barrique and therefore produced in a very limited edition of only 300 bottles –  very rare wine even in Romania. That said, without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results.
___________________________________________________________________________
Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
colour: medium ruby
clarity: hazy ruby

//Olfactory
intensity: rich & vinous
fruit profile: red fruits | black fruits
__red fruits: overripe sour cherry
__black fruits: black cherry | black plum | blackcurrant
fruit character: overripe & dried

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | sweet | earthy | other
__spice: red pepper | anise
__oak: black tea | tree bark | cherry tree wood | sun-dried oak | tobacco
__sweet: dried black cherry | candied sour cherry
__earthy: black soil dust
__other: pomegranate peel | cherry tree sap
__wood: new / medium roast

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: med(+)
__grip: ripe
balance: fair
__dominant: acidity & alcohol
body: round | full body

//Taste
fruit profile: red fruits & black fruits
fruit character: overripe & dried
non fruit: oaky & earthy
finish: med(+)
aftertaste: seedy & tart

//Scoring
VINARIA JUGRESTAN | Ortoman | 2018
variety: cabernet sauvignon
country: Romania
region: Dealurile Satmarului
rating: 90.4

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | age for 1 or 2 more years
verdict: fine | highly recommended
___________________________________________________________________________
This is definitely a fine wine of Romania and, with a total of 90.4 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Verdict: this is a very nice cabernet sauvignon wine: round, tart and seedy – a wine that is still developing, therefore one that can benefit from another year or two in the bottle. It tastes youthful, suppe and fruity, with most of the fruit being on the overripe and dried side of the spectrum (it is a late harvest wine after all). The wine feels nicely balanced, with overwhelming acidity and a ripe tannic grip on the mouthfeel. All in all, the wine has a nuanced fruity-earthy accent and if feels slightly angular and austere on the palate, mostly duet to the nuanced acidity, with a touch of alcoholic warmth on the mouthfeel. What this wine lacks today is a bit of harmony and finesse on the plate. Drink in 1 or 2 years from now (if you are lucky enough to get one) and pair it with a peppery steak, served with blackberry jam and sweet bourbon sauce, so that all those spicy-sweet flavour in the dish will counter-balance all the sharp edges of the wine (the austere acidity and that alcoholic burn on the finale), after all wine is meant to be enjoyed with food.
___________________________________________________________________________
© 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. Just remember that there are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.