Visit and tasting Crama Ferdi, August 24, 2022 by Julia Scavo

Our first encounter with Fernando Mihailescu and his confidential winery dates to 2016. Thanks to Dan Micuda , owner of Vinoteca Trivales we had the chance to visit him while he was still a “garagiste”. It is not that the status has changed much ever since, but Fernando continually creates and pushes the existing quality to the very pinnacle. This certified fly-fishing champion, art connoisseur and gastronomy lover seems to have a chameleon existence as he also worked in the navy, the textile industry and owned a restaurant next to Paris. It is back then that he met some of the most sought- after Burgundy producers and fell in love with the Burgundian signature. Fernando set foot here at the edge of the Dealu Mare in 2009 in an oasis of peace and lush greenery, 20 km far from the dusty hills of the DOC. It is here that he built his garage winery which he slightly enlarged in 2019. Hence, he is not revendicating any DOC, despite now sourcing the grapes on the famous Tohani growth to complement his original 1,5 ha plots in the area. Crama Ferdi is somehow reminiscent of the Burgundian philosophy with its tiny 5 ha surface under the vines. The Burgundian signature is also obvious with the wines from the very first sips tasted on the barrels. Fernando and his son Paul use a complex mix of wood contents from varied sources, continuously racking and moving the wines from one to another in search of the perfect seasoning.

This is how the Cuvée Paul 2021 ( Fetească Neagră/ Cabernet Sauvignon)

offers an incredible finesse with juicy cherry and cherry pit entwined with light graphite and aromatic herbs, while offering a Pinot- like texture, superb acidity, and fine dusty tannins without any generous hint, despite rich , elevated alcohol.

The serious Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 from the barrel showed firm, with amazing depth and salivating acidity to cleanse the palate and let it burst with fine seasoned spices, herbal balsamics and blossomy volatility.

Crama Ferdi is one of the few estates in Romania where we experienced tasting of the barrels, and that means a lot!

“Madame S” Sauvignon Blanc 2021 was clean and vibrant, overleaping old and new world, with peachy notes, elderberry, and some green fruit crisp, while lemony and zesty, tempered by the leesy wrapping and driven by a nice phenolic bite.

White Queen Chardonnay 2021 feels truly Burgundian with creamy nose, nutty toast and lovely peach and apricot scents on an acacia honey background.

Lush texture and youthful structure with oak- derived spices, candied zests that enhance the freshness cutting through the creamy palate.

“Mister S” Syrah 2019 is rich, chocolatey, spicy with smoky toast and pulpy palate imprinted with liquorice, gentle acidity, and integrated tannins. Fleshy core with bright fruit and more on the Shiraz side rather than Syrah, but with the house’s fineness signature.

“Red King“ Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 mingles creamy black fruit with fine herbal aromatics and offers us an idea of how Ferdi´s Reserva Cabernet can evolve with 20 months in the barrel. Straight forward, with a holy trinity of structural parameters, it is polished, savoury with chocolatey grain and superb pot- pourri spiciness.

We finished with “Cuvée Francisc” 2018, a Cabernet Franc with a touch of Merlot, expressing the pristine fruit of the former with delicate freshly cut blossoms and the pulpy spiciness of the latter, while lean, lined by juicy and sappy acidity with fine- grained tannins wrapped in silk. The aftertaste bursts with almost peacock’s tail complexity: fresh cherry, blackcurrant, precious wood, oriental spices, potpourri, liquorice and floral notes. Gorgeous!