

Frunza Pinot Noir 2016
£7.75
A Pinot Noir, at this price? From Romania? That's got to be rubbish, hasn't it? Or it's got to come with a catch. We have to admit, that's what we thought when we first got this little number in. So we cracked open a bottle straight away to prove ourselves right.
And thank Bacchus we did: far from being rubbish, it was indeed a total bargain, and there was no catch - this is budget wine that's not just good for the money, it's just plain good. Full, rich and juicy. Down with prejudice! Up with Romanian Pinot Noir!
The first vineyards were planted in Recas in 1457 by German settlers. In 1999 Cramele Recas purchased the vineyards and winery and embarked on an intensive program of investment. This has resulted in one of the most modern vineyard/winery investments in central Europe, with 800 hectares of newly planted, high quality vineyards. Cramele Recas’s objective is to produce value for money, clean, crisp and modern wines that retain the character of their specific vineyard plots.
Winemaker Hartley Smithers is a graduate of Roseworthy College Australia, and is a native of Sydney. He has worked for over 25 years in this role in Chile, Spain, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia, where he is currently the senior winemaker at Casellas during the European winter. He has worked for Recas for six months a year for the past six years. Vertical shoot positioning in the vineyard is used to ensure healthy and flavoursome grapes.
Grapes were manually picked, 80% of them were destemmed and gently crushed before being put into stainless steel automated maceration/fermentation tanks and inoculated with yeast. There they fermented for 14 days before being pressed and continuing their alcoholic, and then malolactic fermentation in stainless steel tanks. 20% of the grapes were placed directly in 500kg plastic enclosed bins and put through a carbonic maceration, before pressing and completion of their fermentation and malolactic in stainless steel. The wines were then blended and lightly oaked with Transylvanian oak staves before being prepared for bottling with an egg white fining.
This Pinot Noir has gorgeous flavours and is almost syrupy in its concentration. Dark, rich and potent, with layers of complex black cherry, raspberry and cinnamon and a lingering aftertaste.
(excludes Northern Ireland, the Scottish Highlands & Islands, and the Isles of Wight, Man and Scilly - please see below)
Service | Price | Additional Information |
---|---|---|
Standard |
£4.95 FREE |
Most Standard Delivery parcels arrive within 2 working days of placement of your order. Free Standard Delivery is offered on all orders of £100 or more. |
Next Day | £6.95 |
If you place an order by 2pm (UK time), Monday - Thursday, it will be delivered the next working day* Excludes Bank Holidays. Orders placed between 2pm on Thursday and 2pm on Friday will be delivered on the following Monday and orders placed between 2pm Friday and 2pm Monday will be delivered on the following Tuesday. |
Saturday |
£11.95 (all order values) |
Orders must be placed online by 2pm Friday to be delivered on the Saturday of the same week, otherwise it is assumed the order is for the following Saturday. Available for most UK Mainland Postcodes. |
Next Day Before 12noon |
£12.95 (all values) |
Available for most UK Mainland Postcodes.Orders must be placed online by 2pm for delivery the next working day. |
Next Day Before 10am |
£19.95 (all values) |
Available for most UK Mainland Postcodes.Orders must be placed online by 2pm for delivery the next working day. |
Remote Areas - Northern Ireland, the Scottish Highlands & Islands, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man and The Scilly Isles
Delivery Service | Price | Additional Information |
---|---|---|
Standard |
£9.95 |
We can only offer Standard Delivery to these parts of the UK and delivery times will vary locally. Typically, orders placed before 2pm should be received in 3 or 4 working days, although some of the most rural locations may take longer.** Free Standard Delivery to mainland UK addresses on orders over £100. |