Visit and tasting at Crama Budureasca (Dealu Mare, Romania)

Our second day in Dealu Mare was greeted with great anticipation. We had visited some interesting wineries on the previous day and had closed out with a stellar Feteascǎ Neagrǎ Masterclass. We were pumped.

We were scheduled to visit the Budureasca estate and, after a short ride, arrived and were welcomed by Liviu Birceanu, the establishment's Sommelier.

Liviu Birceanu,
Budureasca's Sommelier

After a round of introductions, Liviu launched into a description of the history of the estate. 

History

During the communist period, the current estate was part of a 1400 - 1800-ha vineyard whose focus was on quantity rather than quality and whose product was shipped on to the USSR in railcars.

Budureasca was founded in 2006 when its shareholders bought 275 ha from the owner(s) of the larger vineyard. In Liviu's view, the shareholders had two reasons for buying: (i) the cost of entry was relatively low, with significant upside potential and (ii) they thought this would make for a great hobby. In short order they realized that winemaking on that scale was not an arena for hobbyists; competent day-to-day management was a requirement. They set out in search of a winemaker; and found Stephen Donnelley.

Stephen is from Newcastle (England) but completed his wine studies at UC Davis in the US. After working in the US for 2 years as a Junior Winemaker, Stephen moved on to work in Stellenbosch in South Africa. He came to Romania asa Consultant in 1995 and was so impressed by the potential of the place that he bought a small winery. After 10 years things were not progressing the way that he wanted them to so he was open to doing something else when the Budureasca shareholders came calling.

At this time Liviu paused to pour us some Methode Champenoise Sparkling wine made at the estate from the Feteascǎ Albǎ variety. The wine spent 1 month on lees. Tasty.

Now back to the story. Once the operational aspect was locked down, management turned to the vineyards. They commissioned a study by an Italian company which found the terroir to be of high quality but were concerned as to the state of the vines. The upshot of the investigation was that only 15 ha of vineyards were good enough to take the estate to the quality level that they were pursuing; fully 90% of the vines would have to be replanted. The replanting (funded by the EU) began in 2019 and three years later was still going strong.

One of the outcomes of the Italian study was a clear understanding of the terroirs and soil types encompassed within the boundaries of the estate. The (a) part of the figure below shows the vineyard map while the (b) section captures the soil types involved therein.

With this detailed knowledge of the soil types and terroirs, the enterprise was able to plant varieties in areas to which they were best suited.This deployment of varieties by soil type is illustrated in the vineyard map above. The vines planted included both indigenous and international varieties.

             Indigenous Varieties                                               International Varieties

Feteascǎ Neagrǎ	Cabernet Sauvignon
Feteascǎ Regalǎ	Chardonnay
Feteascǎ Albǎ	Merlot
Tǎmǎioasǎ Romǎneascǎ	Muscat Ottonel
Busiuosca de Bohoten	Pinot Gris
	Pinot Noir
	Riesling
	Sauvignon Blanc
	Shiraz

Approximately 45% of the surface area is planted to white grapes -- illustrating the uniqueness of the vineyard -- when the DOC is predominantly red. The high percentage of white grapes grown here maps to the Romanian population preferences as more white wines than red are drunk in-country. 

The vineyard is farmed organically.

Infrastructure

The building on the property has its upper floor dedicated to the Tasting Room, Lab, Observation platforms, and offices. The lower level is fully dedicated to production. The Lab is the most sophisticated one in the Dealu Mare region and is certified by the government to provide analytical services to neighboring wineries. The winery has capacity for production and storage of 3.2 million liters within the building and 1.1 million liters outside.

Production

Premium grapes are hand-harvested during daylight hours while entry-level grapes are machine-harvested at whatever time is deemed appropriate. Grapes are destemmed and red ones are subjected to an ultrasound treatment in order to ensure that the maximum amount of flavor/color are extracted from the skin during the fermentation and maceration processes (With shortened growing seasons, the phenolics in the skin are not as accessible as they would have been with an additional month of "hang time.").

After fermentation, the wines are sent to barrel or stainless steel storage.

Tasting

At the conclusion of his presentation, Liviu led us on a tasting of selected Budureasca wines. We began with a 2025 Sauvignon Blanc. This had a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc nose with gooseberry, lime skin and grapefruit showing. Minerality, acidity on the palate. Long, bitter finish.

The next wine was the 2025 Tǎmǎioasǎ Romǎnescǎ. This wine is from the Muscat family. Lychee, Gewurtztraminer, honeycomb on the nose. Complex, layered nose. Lime, sweet fruit, tree bark, and a metallic minerality on the palate. Marine characteristic. Long mineral finish.

We also tasted a 2023 Feteascǎ Neagrǎ. The vines for this variety were planted in 1987 -- these were some of the old school vines. Great clean nose with sweet fruit and fudge in the background. Austere in comparison to other FNs I have tasted on this trip. Good acidity. Fresh. Drying on the palate.

The Noble Five is a wine made from Pinot Noir, Feteascǎ Neagrǎ, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The only note I recorded for this was dark fruits.

The Rosé was made from Merlot and Pinot Noir and had 24 hours skin contact. It was off-dry. Strawberry and roses on the nose. Carries through on the palate.

***********************************************************************************************************

One of the more comprehensive visits we had had up to that time. The establishment had secured some EU funds to assist with the launch and they have spent it well. The surroundings are immaculate and the wines are of good quality. Liviu did an excellent job in detailing the history and operational environment of the estate.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme