Moldova navigating winemaking politics

Pub quiz masters, take note. The country with the most grape vines per capita is . . . Moldova. Sandwiched between Romania, another major wine producer, and war-torn Ukraine, which is separated by a stretch of Russia-backed Transnistria, it is one of the poorest countries in Europe. Wine is extremely important to its economy.

Back in 2005, wine accounted for a quarter of the country’s total export earnings. Almost all of this goes to Russia, where Moldovan wines – mainly pasteurized, semi-sweet and sold in bulk – account for about 25% of all wine consumed. But in 2006, Russia abruptly banned wine imports from Moldova, along with Georgia, its other major supplier, in part due to the conflict in Transnistria. For both countries, this was disastrous in the short term, but in the long run it provided a real (albeit painful) incentive to produce better wines to attract other markets.

As Eastern European wine expert and MW Caroline Gilby puts it, “The loss of the Russian market means Moldovan wine has to reinvent itself.” Gilby traveled to Moldova in 2006 to assess how to improve the country’s wine industry.In her 2018 book Wines of Bulgaria, Romania and Moldovashe writes, she encountered “some of the worst winemaking processes I’ve ever seen in my life — old Soviet reactors, cellars that smelled of old wine, rusty painted vats, filthy Pipes and smelly leaky buckets”.

Fortunately, the country has many natural advantages as a wine producer. The climate is mild, with long, relatively warm summers and just the right amount of rainfall. The rolling hills help provide the diurnal temperature contrast, which is considered a factor in wine quality. Additionally, many Moldovan vineyards share two similarities to the popular Burgundy: latitude and limestone.

But Burgundy is nearly 1,500 miles from Ukraine. The most famous Moldovan winery, Purcari, is housed in a handsome stone building in the southeast of the country, just 20 miles from the border, where shelling can sometimes be heard.

I recently tasted 26 current wines made by Purcari and its associated producer Bostavan, and they certainly show the fruits of the considerable investment in Moldovan vineyards and cellars.

Grapes currently include a standard list of international varieties that were once very popular, as well as quite a few local specialties and arguably more modern idioms. In fact, there is a white grape variety called Viorica that is relatively new to me. This cross was made in Moldova back in 1969 and the breed seems to be gaining popularity there today.

Moldova’s winegrowers are an active bunch, keen to differentiate their country from its much larger western neighbor, Romania. Moldova claims to be the birthplace of Festească Albă and Festească Neagră, two grapes grown widely in Romania, as well as the Romanian grapes Festească Regală and Babescă Neagră, known in Moldova as Rară Neagră.

However, according to my tasting, the grape variety that really thrives in Moldova is neither Moldova nor Romania, but Georgia’s pride and joy, Saperavi. It has apparently been grown in Moldova since the late 19th century, and seems to have adapted so well that one cannot help but see similarities to the Malbec grape that arrived in Argentina from Cahors in southwest France, and seems particularly suited to its home there .

Saperavi is the main ingredient in Purcari’s Freedom Blend, one of the most striking political wines I’ve seen, which also includes 20% Rară Neagră and 15% Bastardo, a hybrid originally from the Crimea . The three grapes are intended to represent Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine respectively – all of which are Russian targets. Originally released in 2014 after Putin’s annexation of Crimea, the wine was first blended on the basis of the 2011 vintage – to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Moldova’s independence.

I’ve tasted the 2018, 2019 and 2020 vintages and can recommend them – not least because of the complex but less pronounced oak aging and the fact that it retails for less than £20. Profits, which I think could reasonably be raised through price increases, support the Ukrainian war effort and Ukrainian children.

But the wine that Purcari is most proud of is probably the historic Negru de Purcari, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Saperavi and Rară Neagră that won a gold medal at the 1878 Paris World’s Fair. It was revived in the 1950s and in 2010 a white wine of this famous wine called Alb de Purcari was launched. It reminds me of one of the best white blends produced in Friuli in northeastern Italy.

Purcari, of Stefan Voda in the southeast, is by no means the only valuable producer in this potential vine paradise. In her book, Gilby lists 27 different producers, including 13 new, smaller producers, that have been breathing life into Moldova’s wine scene. With wine brands such as Bad Boys, Ed Knows and Femme Fatale, producers appear to be more constrained than many of their European counterparts to limit export markets.

I was impressed by the wines of Gitana, located in the warmer Valul lui Traian region in the south-west of the country. They seem to have found their way to the US and UK.

Tony Laithwaite of Laithwaites has been importing Moldovan wines since 1999. Their main supplier, Château Vartely, is just 30 kilometers from the Ukrainian border and, like Purcari, it was united for the start of the war. Laithwaites named it Winery of the Year for 2022.

Today Lightwaite observes that “going to Moldova is still the same as it was on my first visit in 2002 . . . the countryside is still medieval, with wagons and geese. Sophisticated wineries, they seem to have landed like a spaceship. Their winemaking has jumped from the 19th century to the 21st and missed the 20th.”

Tasting Notes from Purple Pages of JancisRobinson.com. Follow Jesse on Twitter @Jancis Robinson

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