CRAMA CEPARI | Cuvée | 2017
cabernet sauvignon | pinot noir | negru de dragasani

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Today we are going to review a wine that we’ve discovered relatively recently – Cuvée 2017 by Crama Cepari. The winery was founded out of pure passion by Ilarie Prioteasa, who identified the Cepari vineyards in the Dragasani region (eastern Oltenia) as a perfect spot for his new project. This particular wine is a blend of three grape varieties: cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir and negru de dragasani, where cabernet sauvignon forms the wine’s main body and structure, pinot noir adds savoriness and smoothens the final blend, while negru de dragasani delivers a more refined mid-palate. Needless to mention that the wine is produced in a limited edition of only 2810 bottles. That said and without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
colour: deep ruby color
clarity: pale garnet shades

//Olfactory
intensity: rich & savory
fruit profile: black fruits
__black fruits: black cherry | black plum | blackcurrant | blackberry
fruit character: ripe & overripe

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | savory
__spice: black pepper | cloves | anise
__oak: roasted oakwood | oaktree bark | tobacco | hints of charred wood
__savory: iron | veal | leather | brown olive
primary layer: savory

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: medium
__grip: green
balance: good
__dominant: alcohol
body: supple & hot | medium+

//Taste
fruit profile: black fruits
fruit character: ripe
non fruit: spice & oak
finish: medium
aftertaste: crisp

//Scoring
CRAMA CEPARI | Cuvée | 2017
variety: cabernet sauvignon | pinot noir | negru de dragasani
country: Romania | Oltenia
region: Dragasani
rating: 91.9

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | age for 2 or 3 more years
verdict: fine | highly recommended
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This is definitely a fine wine of Romania and, with a total of 91.9 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 quite lean, supple and crisp wine blend, with a very delicate and rustic profile. The wine is still developing, therefore we would recommend to give it another 2 or 3 years of bottle ageing, in order to allow it to develop further complexity and roundness. On the nose the wine displays ripe black fruits in the foreground, followed by a nuanced and savory background, with a spicy-oaky layer in between the two. On the palate the wine delivers elevated acidity, fine and a bit green tannins and an overwhelming touch of alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which leads to a quite crisp and slightly green aftertaste. All in all, this is a fair wine blend, with a fruity-savory profile and a slightly flat and wide mouthfeel – a wine that is lacking just a bit in terms of structure and complexity. We would recommend to pair this wine with delicate, fat-rich meats or any red wine based dishes. Cheers!

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