DOMENIUL BOGDAN | Primordial | Feteasca Neagra | 2019
feteasca neagra

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Today we are going to review a very unique wine – one that is considered among the best single varietal feteasca neagra wines of Romania – Primordial Feteasca Neagra 2019 by Domeniul Bogdan. Made from grapes that were sourced from the Murfatlar vineyards of Dobrogea wine region, that is situated between the Danube and the Black Sea, whose warm climate is tempered by the cool sea breezes. This wine is produced according to the biodynamic philosophy, aimed at obtaining healthy grapes by feeding the soil only with natural substances and is signed by the late oenologist Philippe Cambie. Biodynamic viticulture applies the principles of the organic farming – it does not use synthetic chemicals like herbicides, pesticides or fungicides, but rather a range of natural preparations, that have the role of starters in harmonization of the biological processes in the soil, where they stimulate microbial life. In order to preserve the varietal characteristics of feteasca neagra grapes, the wine has been aged only for 12 months in medium toasted, french oak barriques at 2nd and 3rd use. Feteasca Neagra is an indigenous romanian variety that has been grown for hundreds of years on substantial plantings in the south of Moldova and eastern Muntenia and today, this is the most famous red variety in Romania. Wines made from feteasca neagra grapes are usually fruit-forward, complex and structured, wines that quite often are compared to merlot and cabernet franc, mostly due to their body, robust tannins and elegant textures. But let’s skip all that theory part and without further ado, let’s switch to the wine tasting results below.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
colour: deep & opaque ruby color
clarity: hazy ruby shades at the rim

//Olfactory
intensity: pronounced & earthy
fruit profile: black fruits | dried fruits
__black fruits: black plum | black cherry | blackberry
__blue fruits: dried black plum | dried aronia berry
fruit character: overripe & dried

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | sweet | earth
__spice: peppercorn | cloves | nutmeg | tonka seeds
__oak: toasted oakwood | cherry tree wood | tobacco
__sweet: black cherry jam | blackberry jam | aronia jam
__earth: black soil | graphite | charcoal | granite | dust
primary layer: fruity-earthy

//Palate
sweetness: bone dry
acidity: medium+
alcohol: high
tannin: high
__grip: ripe
balance: good
__dominant: alcohol
body: firm | full body

//Taste
fruit profile: black fruits & dried fruits
fruit character: overripe & dried
non fruit: spice & oak & earth
finish: medium+
aftertaste: hot & seedy

//Scoring
DOMENIUL BOGDAN | Primordial | Feteasca Neagra | 2019
variety: feteasca neagra
country: Romania | Dobrogea
region: Murfatlar
rating: 93.8

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | age for 3 to 5 more years
verdict: great | a must try wine
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This is definitely a great wine of Romania and, with a total of 93.8 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 very expressive, firm and ripe feteasca neagra wine, with a jammy-rich mouthfeel and a seedy-hot aftertaste. The wine is still in its development phase, therefore it requires at least 3 or 4 more years of bottle ageing in order to round up its sharp edges and get closer to its true potential. On the nose the wine brings a mixture of overripe, dried and jammy black fruits in the foreground, followed by very pronounced spicy and oaky notes in the background and a subtle earthy layer in between the two. On the palate the wine delivers flat acidity, ripe and firm tannins and an overwhelming touch of alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel. All in all, this is a quite extracted, bold and grippy feteasca neagra wine, with a nuanced fruity-jammy profile on the nose – a wine with a very good ageing potential that in its current state lacks some finesse and elegance on the palate. Taking into account the wine structure and flavour profile, we would recommend to pair it with spicy or barbequed meats, like for example a rosemary-garlic flank steak, a skillet steak with bourbon sauce or a peppercorn-crusted tomahawk steak. Enjoy!

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