1999 Cramele Halewood Pinot Noir Special Reserve

This wine won the Grand Gold Medal at the 2002 Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, being, for many years, the only dry Romanian wine that won such an award. It is the first time I taste it, and my curiosity and excitement grew immensely ever since I received this bottle, a few weeks ago, from Cramele Halewood where it was stored since its bottling. Both, the fill level and the cork were flawless.

1999 Cramele Halewood Pinot Noir Special Reserve

Saturated ruby red color with no signs of aging. Well developed and maturing, but still youthful, dominated by rich primary aromas, absolutely amazing. Intense aromas of pure red fruits, flowers, eucalyptus, with real depth and complexity given by game, chocolate and truffles aromas. Full bodied, with perfect balance between good extraction, bright acidity, completely integrated tannins and velvety texture, with intense flavors and a real pleasure for the senses. Medium plus finish, really fresh and lingering flavors. This wine is extremely youthful, you can think of more recent vintages when you sip it, but certainly not of a 13 years old wine. The wine is probably at its peak now, however it can stay on this plateau for another 5-7 years easily (perhaps even more) offering great drinking pleasure to the few fortunate owners that still have bottles left. Kudos to Aurelia Visinescu, the winemaker at that time, and Cramele Halewood for this wine that drinks so well today.  (92+/100)