VILLA VINÈA | Cuvèe Celést | Brut | 2016
pinot noir | riesling | chardonnay

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Today we are going to review a very intriguing and quite unique sparkling wine from Tarnave wine region in Romania – Cuvèe Celést Brut 2016 by Villa Vinèa. This is a true crémant wine, made using the authentic méthode traditionelle technique, the same way french champagne is made – a blend of pinot noir, riesling and chardonnay, made of grapes that were sourced from the Valea Tarnavei Mici vineyards, planted on 320m-350m altitude. Aged for 3 years on fine lees (sur lie), this wine is the winemaker’s flagship cuvée. Due to long term second fermentation in the bottle, the wine developed extra complexity and delivers enhanced creaminess on the palate. Also it is worth mentioning that fact that this wine is a so called millésime sparkling wine, which means that it was created from a single harvest, that of 2016. That said and without further ado, let’s move on straight to the tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
color: deep amber color
clarity: clear amber hues

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful & yeasty
fruit profile: green fruits | stone fruits
__green fruits: wild pear | dried quince
__stone fruits: apricot | yellow mirabelle | dried apricot
fruit character: ripe & dried

//Flavor
non fruit: lactic | yeast | other
__lactic: hints of butter & yogurt
__yeast: bread crust | dough | baguette | biscuit | bread crumbs | brioche
__other: sour apple | canned apricot | hazelnut | cashew | dried herbs
primary layer: lactic & yeasty

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: medium-
__grip: green
balance: good
__dominant: acidity & seediness
body: firm & seedy | medium+

//Taste
fruit profile: green fruits & stone fruits
fruit character: underripe & ripe
non fruit: lactic & yeasty
finish: medium+
aftertaste: bitter-seedy

//Scoring
VILLA VINÈA | Cuvèe Celést | Brut | 2016
variety: pinot noir | riesling | chardonnay
country: Romania
region: Târnave-Târnăveni
rating: 91.5

//Conclusion
maturity: past its prime | on the decline \ do not age
verdict: fine | highly recommended
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This is definitely a fine wine of Romania and with a total of 91.5 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 firm, rough and slightly seedy sparkling wine that is already past the peak of its apogée, thus one that should be enjoyed today rather than tomorrow. It has a pronounced fruity-yeasty profile on the nose and feels well structured and powerful on the palate. The wine delivers overwhelming acidity and a well integrated alcoholic warmth on the mouthfeel, with a slightly tart and bitter-seedy aftertaste. On the nose the wine displays a mixture of ripe and dried stone fruits, followed by some very nuanced leesy notes of bread crust and baguette in the foreground, supported by subtle herbal-leesy hints of dried herbs and dough in the background. Overall this is a quite seedy and slightly angular crémant wine that lacks just a bit of elegance and finesse on the palate. Cheers!

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