Photo: ciur nicu, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Moldavian Hills · Sub-regions

Cotnari

Romania's most famous origin: since the 15th century the slopes of Cotnari, Cucuteni and Hârlău have produced nobly sweet wines from four native varieties. Autumn fogs of the Bahlui valley encourage noble rot; the wines age for decades.

3Wineries

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Grape Varieties

Grasă de Cotnari, Fetească Albă

Frâncușă, Tămâioasă Românească

Most Famous Site

Cotnari

Vineyard Area

1.700 ha

Harvest

September – October

TERROIR PROFILE · Moldavian Hills

Cotnari Cotnari – Continental

Romania's most famous origin: since the 15th century the slopes of Cotnari, Cucuteni and Hârlău have produced nobly sweet wines from four native varieties.

☀ Cool continental⛰ Slope: moderateGrasă de CotnariFetească AlbăFrâncușăTămâioasă Românească

What is terroir? →

SOILS

Marlbalanced, structured

Marl is a mix of limestone and clay — yields structured, balanced wines with acidity backbone.

Loessround, fruity, full

Loess stores water and nutrients. Wines tend to be rounder, juicier and fuller.

Loambody-rich, velvety

Loamy soils give wines volume and a soft, velvety mouthfeel.

Limestoneprecise, mineral

Limestone delivers tension, structure and a cooler, more mineral character.

CLIMATE · Cool continental

Continental climate on the Moldavian Plateau with cold winters and warm summers. Damp autumn mornings encourage noble rot, so grapes often stay on the vine until late October.

TOPOGRAPHY · moderate

Hilly slopes in the north of the Moldavian Plateau near Cotnari, between roughly 200 and 400 m altitude. Vineyards lie mostly on south- and south-west-facing calcareous slopes cut by valleys.

WHAT IT MEANS IN THE GLASS

ripearomaticindigenousregional character

Typical Flavours of the Region

Region aroma cloud

HoneyQuinceDried apricotWalnutBeeswaxWhite blossomPeachApricotAlmondGreen appleLemonMeadow herbsFlintRoseOrange blossomGrapeFrankincense

→ Aroma wheel and variety profiles

Moldavian Hills overview

This sub-region is part of Moldavian Hills. The map shows all 12 sub-regions — Cotnari is highlighted.

Overview

Wineries3

Detailed profiles3

Typical Varieties

Grasă de Cotnari

Fetească Albă

Frâncușă

Tămâioasă Românească

Terroir & Climate

Wine Character

Cotnari lies in Iași County in north-eastern Romania, on the hills of the Moldavian Plateau north of the city of Iași. The origin covers the slopes around Cotnari, Cucuteni and Hârlău. Viticulture goes back to the Middle Ages; since the 15th century the wines of Cotnari have counted as Romania's most famous. Cucuteni also gave its name to the Chalcolithic Cucuteni culture.

The climate is continental, with hot summers, cold winters and frequent autumn fog in the valley of the Bahlui river. This fog encourages noble rot (Botrytis), the basis of the nobly sweet wines. The soils are calcareous marl, loess and clay, which give the wines structure.

Four native white varieties are grown: Grasă de Cotnari, Fetească Albă, Frâncușă and Tămâioasă Românească. The wines range from dry to nobly sweet; the sweet wines are made for long storage and age for decades.

Soil Type

Calcareous marl, loess, clay

Climate

Continental, autumn fog

Classified Single Vineyards

5 sites

The most important classified single vineyards in the region. Classification per VDP (German Prädikat Wine Estates Association) and traditional vineyard registers.

1Cotnari

Klassifiziert

📍 Cotnari

Soil:Calcareous marl, loess, clay

Varieties:Grasă de Cotnari, Fetească Albă, Frâncușă, Tămâioasă Românească