AVINCIS | Cuvée Andrei | Cabernet Sauvignon | 2017
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 the famous Dragasani region in Oltenia – Cuvée Andrei Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 by Avincis. Cabernet Sauvignon is grown all over the world in a wide range of climates and regions and it usually produces 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, where it is capable to produce wines that can reach into realms of perfection. 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 comes from the warm Dragasani region, which is situated on the right bank of the Olt river (the largest tributary of the Danube river), where cabernet sauvignon has found a new home in Romania, growing on clay, limestone, sand, gravel and marl soils. The wine itself is a cuvée, as it is partially oaked, with 40% of the blend aged for 14 months in new, french oak barriques, while the other part (60%) is kept in stainless steel tanks in order to preserve the purity of the primary fruit flavours. That said and 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-deep ruby
clarity: hazy purple hues

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful & flamboyant
fruit profile: black fruits
__black fruits: blackcurrant | black cherry | black mulberry | blackberry | black plum
fruit character: ripe & overripe

//Flavor
non fruit: floral | spice | oak | sweet | other
__spice: black pepper | nutmeg | cloves | anise
__oak: vanilla | liquorice | roasted oakwood | tobacco
__sweet: blackcurrant jam | aronia berry jam | blackberry jam
__other: dried black cherry | dried black plum | varnish | leather | violets
__wood: new / medium & high roast

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: med(+)
tannin: med(+)
__grip: firm
balance: good
__dominant: acidity
body: round | medium+

//Taste
fruit profile: black fruits
fruit character: ripe & overripe
non fruit: spice | oak | sweet
finish: med(+)
aftertaste: crisp & appealing

//Scoring
AVINCIS | Cuvée Andrei | Cabernet Sauvignon | 2017
variety: cabernet sauvignon
country: Romania
region: Dragasani
rating: 92.5

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | age for 2 or 3 more years
verdict: great | a must try
___________________________________________________________________________
This is definitely a great wine of Romania and, with a total of 92.5 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 fine cabernet sauvignon wine, one that has yet to reach the summit of its prime form, therefore we would recommend for 2 or 3 more years of bottle ageing. Cuvée Andrei is a wine that delivers ripe, fine-grained tannins, well integrated alcohol, with overwhelming acidity on the palate and a plethora of rich, flamboyant flavours on the nose, with hints of violets and leather in the foreground and subtle notes of wood varnish and tobacco in the background – flavours that are highly appreciated by the wine connoisseurs. Overall the wine feels crisp, supple and very appealing, with a nuanced fruit-forward profile, round and voluptuous mouthfeel and some very noble, oak-infused spiciness that coats the palate with an added layer of rich flavours. All in all this is a well balanced and nicely structured wine, with a nuanced fruit-forward profile, round, medium+ body and a crisp finale – a wine that, for a single-varietal cabernet sauvignon, lacks some structure and firmness on the palate.
___________________________________________________________________________
© 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.