Lacerta Winery has a fast pace towards the leading position in Romanian winemaking, well recognized for its quality and value. It has rapidly become one of the best known in the country and is representative for the Dealu Mare region.

Located on the same parallel as Bordeaux, Saint-Emilion as well as the Tuscan vineyards, Dealu Mare wine estate has a great potential for the international market.

Lacerta brings a sophisticated technology, knowledge and skills in winemaking which mixed with the „terroir” results into well balanced and appealing wines.

Let’s not forget that their first year was 2009 with a superb Cuvee IX.

Located on top of a hill, the winery is offering great views of the surroundings: the vineyards and the Fintesti village. A visit here is like a breath of fresh air. It is open from Thursday to Sunday for seminars, team buildings, wine tastings and other events. The winery includes a mansion, built in 1901, by the Romanian architect Ion Mincu, a business meeting room, a Lounge & Tasting Room, an Old Wine Cellar, a Wine Court and a Wine Shop.

Lovely to be back at Lacerta Winery, this time with the CEO Club, for a tour through the wine production and vineyard, with barrel and tank wine tasting. Notes on this year’s harvest, notions on tasting techniques, the baric influence on the wine came along our tour.. A relaxed Saturday afternoon with appreciation and enjoyment of fine wines, in the company of the owners, Walter and Larisa Friedl.

Learning about the techniques used to assess wines is a straightforward adventure that will deepen your appreciation for both wines and winemakers. But above all is the combination of smell and taste that allows you to discern flavor.

We tasted wines “vertically” meaning that we tried for example Merlot from different years, 2013 – still in steel tank of course, 2012 – in “barrique” stored in an oak barrel for 12 months and from 2011 – from the bottle. What a difference it makes.. for all of us it was much clearer afterwards what it means that red-wines have to “age” before we can drink them.

The use of the oak plays a significant role in winemaking and can have a profound effect on the resulting wine, affecting the color, flavor, tannin profile and texture of the wine. Lacerta uses oak from France, Russia, Hungary, Romania and USA. The oak from France is sweeter and with vanilla overtones while the one from the USA is more intensely flavored. The Hungarian oak gives structure to the wine, with elegant tannins and spicy toasted bread, with higher levels of Eugenol compounds than the French one – nutmeg, clove and oriental sweet spice characters. During the aging, The Russian oak gives more elegant and sweeter aromas.

Of course Lacerta’s biggest interest is focused on the barrels made out of Romanian oak. The Romanian oak aroma – similar with the 3 big French oaks –  makes very elegant and round wine. So in the very good years – like f.e. 2013 – they use a lot of Romanian oak because the aromas of exotic fruits, of vanilla, of bitter chocolate or caramel are not so much needed since the flavors come already from the grapes. In those very good years, the “elegancy” is what is needed.