Alira Winery Tribun

Alira is an 80-acre boutique winery, located in Dobrogea, on the hills overlooking the banks of the Old Danube. The name ALIRA is a merge between the names of the localities of Aliman and Rasova where vineyards are located and where the wine is born on the banks of the Danube. This is a special place where nature works in favour of man and the only ingredients missing to make a legendary wine were passion and skill.

The wine tradition in the area spreads over millennia, with pieces of evidence dating back to Geto-Dacians times. It was re brought to life in a modern way by the French oenologist Mark Dworkin, who had an intuition regarding the potential of the place. The investments were made with the help of Dr. Karl Hauptmann, a wine enthusiast who shares the vision. They included Alira in an international network of top wine cellars. This family of wineries includes Bulgaria’s Bessa Valley and Chateau 9 Peaks in China, and is guided by a common philosophy of making wine. The winemaker Mark Dworkin has a long-standing experience in the Bordeaux area and has chosen to create characterful wines in Romania which preserve the staple mark of the local terroir.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Feteasca Neagra

Dobrogea is one of Romania’s most important regions being the country’s only coastal area and plays host to the world’s second largest river delta, the Danube Delta. It was in Dobrogea that a famous horde of archaeological objects were found which revealed the importance of wine in the ancient cities along the Romanian shore – something that winemakers are fiercely proud of.

The Dobrogea wine region can enjoy up to a whopping 300 days of sunshine a year, making it a perfect destination for growing grapes and making wine. The climate is distinctly warm, but is moderated and cooled by the coastal breeze of the Black Sea. Generally dry climates provide more suitable conditions for organic farming, with many winemakers taking up natural practices.

50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot & 10% Feteasca Neagra.

The grapes are picked manually, and then carefully selected on the sorting tables. Aged for about 3 months in French oak barrels for part of the wine, while the rest was kept in stainless steel tanks.

Ruby red with garnet reflexes, red fruit flavours, but also slightly minty (reminiscent of eucalyptus), on the palate there are sour cherries, cardamom, white pepper and black chocolate with fine tannins from grapes harvested at full maturity.

Food wise, drink this with goulash, mushroom risotto, meatballs in tomato sauce or literally anything “lamby”.

Nolan - This should be more expensive, if it wasn't from Romania it certainly would be! Here you have a classic Bordeaux blend, on the riper end of the spectrum, blended with native Romanian Grape Feteasca Neagra; "black maiden". Feteasca Neagra brings chocolate and spice, the spice itself evolves and builds as the wine opens up from contact with oxygen. I'm very tempted to hide a case of this in the cellar to see how it evolves.