The Franco-Romanian Estates (DFR)– are one of the most important trailblazers in Romanian wine.
The Franco-Romanian Estates (DFR) – are one of the most important trailblazers in Romanian wine. In a time when one could count private investors on their fingers, a visionary from Burgundy, Denis Thomas, sensed not only the potential for high-quality wines of the Dealu Mare region but also the opportunity to create ecological wines here. Better said, when the (very) few quality wine producers in Romania were trying to let the public – from Romania or from around the world – know that there is good wine here, in Romania, he anticipated a fashion that twenty years later just begins to grow roots.
Denis Thomas started with a 45-hectare plantation, located between Gura Vadului and Sahateni, close to the border between the Prahova and Buzau counties, in the heart of the Dealu Mare region. Three years later, the conversion to organic agriculture began, and in 2006, Domeniile Franco-Romane became the first ecologically certified company in Romania. The Ecocert certification recognizes that a certain company guarantees the protection of the climate and the environment, the preservation of soil fertility and biodiversity, respect for natural cycles, the absence of chemical and synthetic products, as well as genetically modified organisms.
The roots of DFR come from Ecaterina Eminescu, a niece by the brother of the greatest Romanian poet, Mihai Eminescu
Meanwhile, at a short distance from the DFR vineyard, an old family recovered, in 2002, 45 hectares of vineyards, part of the estates confiscated during the communist era. The roots of the estate come from Ecaterina Eminescu, a niece by the brother of the greatest Romanian poet, Mihai Eminescu, and Alexandru Persu, an agronomist engineer from Dealu Mare and former mayor of Tohani.
The Persu-Eminescu vineyard, inherited and recovered by the Olariu family, is reborn and becomes a supplier of high-quality grapes for wine producers in the area. In 2018, among the clients is Denis Thomas, who had already gained notoriety among wine lovers with his famous well-rounded Chardonnays and Burgundy-inspired, supple and acidic Pinot noirs.
After he had already fallen in love with life in the vineyard, the son of the Olariu family, Mihnea, also built a passion for the eco/bio lifestyle, and Thomas’ desire to sell the vineyard finds, almost providentially, the perfect buyer, one who will continue his investment in sustainability.
Mihnea brings in investors and, from 2019, the DFR vineyard and the Persu-Eminescu vineyard unite under the leadership of the youngest team of managers in Romanian wine. Liviu Grigorica, the best-known consultant in Romanian wine, and the resident oenologist Valentin Rotaru start working at the winery, and the winery enters an extensive process of modernization and expansion, in order to cope with the already double production of grapes.
One of the priorities of the coming years is the conversion of the hectares rehabilitated by the Olariu family to organic agriculture and, eventually, their ecological certification. Moreover, recently installed solar panels will serve to charge electric vehicles, emphasizing the “green” dimension of the French-Romanian Domains.
The climate of the DFR vineyard is much more similar to that of Burgundy
Although it has become a cliché to compare Deal Mare with Bordeaux, the owners say that, in fact, the climate of the vineyard is much more similar to that of Burgundy. It is certain that traditional techniques and cutting-edge technology meet here, and the wines born from this meeting have a special personality, easy to identify. Even modern wines, fresh fruity, carry on the taste of the place. If you don’t believe us, just go and taste it. The winery is open and waiting for you!
• Contact person: Mihnea OLARIU
• Telephone: +40726710706
• E-mail: contact@dfr-wines.com
• Opening hours: 09.00-17.00
• Name of the company: CH. PIETROSARATII SRL
• Established in: 1999
• Owners: Mihnea-Ioan Olariu (co-owner)
• Oenologist: Liviu Grigorica, Valentin Rotaru
• Annual production: 400.000 liters
• Surface: 85 hectares
• Direct sales: YES
• Address: Sahateni, jud. Buzau, str. Scolii nr. 143
• Head office address: Bucuresti, Sector 1, str. Scarlatescu nr. 17-19
• Website: www.dfr-wines.com
LAST UPDATE: MARCH 2024
