Variety
WhiteGrasă de Cotnari
Also known as: Grasă, Kövérszőlő
The 'fat one of Cotnari': thick-skinned, sugar-rich, prone to noble rot – the base of the legendary nobly sweet Cotnari wines with honey, quince and nut, ageing for decades.
Portrait
Grasă de Cotnari, the "fat one of Cotnari", is a white grape of the Cotnari wine region in Iași county in Moldavia. It has been grown there since the rule of Stephen the Great (1457–1504). It is identical with Hungary's Kövérszőlő, used for Aszú wines in Tokaj, and together with Fetească Albă is a parent of Fetească Regală. It is grown mainly in Cotnari.
The variety has comparatively large berries and reaches exceptionally high sugar levels. Typical are botrytis-influenced sweet to semi-sweet wines with high residual sugar, golden-yellow, at 11.5 to 14 % alcohol, with aromas of apricot, walnut and almond. They age well and darken from pale yellow towards orange tones.
The sweet wines pair with foie gras, blue cheese and almond pastries.
Taste profile
Six axes — acidity, sweetness, body, tannin, aroma intensity and depth — on a 0–5 scale, based on typical style. Real wines vary by region and producer.
Typical aromas — Grasă de Cotnari
These 5 aromas typically define Grasă de Cotnari. Actual taste experience varies by region and style.
Honey
Quince
Dried apricot
Walnut
Beeswax
Grasă de Cotnari aroma families
These aroma categories are characteristic of Grasă de Cotnari. Other varieties have different focuses.
Fruit aromas are the most common and come directly from the grape, ranging from citrus through stone fruit to black berries.
Wood and toast aromas emerge from aging in oak barriques or larger wooden barrels.
Secondary aromas from malolactic fermentation and yeast lysis, common in whites and sparkling wines.
Key regions
Grasă de Cotnari is grown in the following regions of our atlas. Click to see wineries.
Wineries with Grasă de Cotnari
3 curated profiles in our atlas grow Grasă de Cotnari.
3 wineries
Casa de Vinuri Cotnari
Rumänische Moldau · Cotnari · Cotnari
Grasă de Cotnari, Fetească Albă, Frâncușă
Cotnari SA
Rumänische Moldau · Cotnari · Cotnari
Grasă de Cotnari, Fetească Albă, Frâncușă
Pietroasa Veche
Muntenien & Oltenien · Dealu Mare · Pietroasele
Tămâioasă Românească, Grasă de Cotnari, Busuioacă de Bohotin