To know it is to love it — Prince Stirbey Cramposie Selectionata 2015

This week I went back to a a wine which is close to my heart, but perhaps not yet close to the hearts of too many others. Not because they reject it, but simply because they don’t know it.

To step back and explain — the Cramposie grape is a native variety from the Oltenia region of Romania, with the wine production centred around the town of Dragasani. Dragasani is approximately a 2-and-a-half hours’ drive due west from Bucharest (2 hours for a local!).

It’s a region steeped in wine making history, dating back to before the Romans to the period when the Dacians inhabited these lands. (I’m hoping this paints a picture, and, for reference, the name Cramposie in English you would pronounce it as “Cram po sheer”. Is that any help?)

In 1972, boffins in Dragasani developed what we now know today as Cramposie Selectionata. Cramposie being an autosterile variety of grape, which means the flowers cannot bear fruit through their own pollen, a grafting was done with another local native grape, Gordan. This helped to strengthen the the root stock which was very susceptible to bad weather, and created a vines which can bear prolific crops of fruit if left to it’s own devices, so the vines need to be pruned hard in winter, so as to reduce the yields to produce high quality wine.

To get to the specfics of one of my favourite drops — the Prince Stirbey vineyard with it’s 300 history is family owned by Ileana Kripp Continescu and her husband Jakob, who both have a total dedication to producing the finest wines possible, focusing mostly on local and native grape varieties. Perhaps Cramposie a Selectionata is the most iconic of the Dragasani varieties, but this is only one of 6 local and native grapes produced on this idyllic 40 hectare plot on the hillside looking down over the river Olt.

The wine itself? The Prince Stirbey Cramposie Selectionata 2015 was created by German wine maker Oliver Bauer, and is a clean lean dry white, pale straw in colour, with a zesty crisp acidity. It has a lovely mineral quality about it, with hints of citrus, lemons and limes. A wine to sip while sitting in the sunshine with a bowl of green olives, or to pair alongside fish dishes and some cheeses.

This is a wine best drunk young to capture the essence of what the wine is about, those vestry vibrant characteristics. It brings back memories of visiting the Prince Stirbey vineyard a couple of years ago on a very warm day in May, sitting on their terrace, looking down the valley to the river Olt, drinking a chilled glass of this very wine, fabulous!

With it’s high acidity the Cramposie Selectionata grape also lends it’s very well to making excellent sparkling wine which Prince Stirbey also produce using the traditional method. Left in the cellars on the lees for 3 years to develop the flavours, it’s fabulous, and would invite itself to any party!

The Prince Stirbey wines are now starting to find their way into the UK market, the quality speaks for itself, so sit tight, and keep your eyes peeled. They are coming …