PETRO VASELO | Otarnita | 2019
pinot noir

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Today we are going to review a single varietal pinot noir wine from Recas vineyards in Banat region – Otarnita 2019 by Petro Vaselo. Pinot Noir has reached a legendary status over the last decades and today it is the most sought-after red wine in the world. The grape itself is quite vulnerable, suffering from a multitude of diseases and its genetics make it highly susceptible to mutation. But despite all the difficulty to grow pinot noir, when treated with utmost care, it is capable of producing the very best expressions of terrior. This particular wine is made of pinot noir grapes, sourced from vines that are planted at 200-meters altitude on west-faced slopes on a slightly hilly terrain with clay-based soil. In order to preserve the varietal typicity of pinot noir grapes, the wine has been aged for only 8 months in 225-liters oak barrels and an additional 6 months of bottle ageing before being released on the market. 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: medium-pale garnet color
clarity: hazy garnet shades on the rim

//Olfactory
intensity: rich & earthy
fruit profile: red fruits
__red fruits: sour cherry | cranberry | red plum | redcurrant
fruit character: ripe

//Flavor
non fruit: vegetal | spice | oak | savory | earthy
__vegetal: wormwood | rosemary | thyme
__spice: red pepper | paprika
__oak: roasted oakwood | cherry tree wood | oaktree bark | cherry tree sap
__savory: iron | veal | brown olive
__earthy: marl | clay | brown soil | loam
primary layer: earthy–savory

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: high
__grip: green
balance: good
__dominant: alcohol & tannin
body: firm | full body

//Taste
fruit profile: red fruits
fruit character: ripe
non fruit: spice & herbs
finish: medium+
aftertaste: seedy-green

//Scoring
PETRO VASELO | Otarnita | 2019
variety: pinot noir
country: Romania | Banat
region: Recas
rating: 91.8

//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 91.8 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 seedy, firm and slightly angular pinot noir wine, with a very muscular palate and a nuanced, earthy-herbal profile on the nose. The wine is still in its development phase, therefore we would recommend to give it 2 or 3 more years of bottle ageing, in order to allow it to round up and smoothen those rough edges, but don’t overdo it as it is always better to drink a wine a year too soon than a day too late. On the nose the wine brings a mixture of ripe red fruits and some very nuanced earthy notes in the foreground, followed by a herbal-oaky background and a spicy-savory layer in between. On the palate the wine delivers crisp acidity, firm and green tannins and an overwhelming touch of alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which leads to a seedy-green aftertaste. All in all, this is a quite plump yet angular pinot noir wine with a seedy-green palate – a wine that definitely needs more time of bottle ageing, as in its current state it lacks any form of harmony on the mouthfeel. We believe this wine might pair nicely with barbequed or spicy-herbaceous meats, like for example a rib-eye steak with garlic and thyme. Cheers!

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