Lechinţa

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The terrain is exclusively hilly, encompassing sub-Carpathian-type hills in the eastern part and the high hills of the eastern Transylvanian Plain in the western part.
• The hills and ridges generally reach altitudes of 300–500 m at their crests, with moderately to steeply sloping aspects of between 5° and 25°.
• Annual rainfall averages 650–700 mm in the valleys, ranging from 635 mm at Teaca to 715 mm at Beclean, and around 800 mm on the hilltops.
• The vineyards are generally situated on south-, south-east-, and south-west-facing slopes and in the valleys between the hills, where heat and light resources are available.
• The appearance of foggy days at the end of summer and on nearly a third of autumn days leads to a slow ripening process, preserving aromatic complexity and a consistently high acidity.

• Red wines display a red colour with violet hues when young, developing into an intense ruby red after more than two years of age, and sometimes brick-red or terracotta hues with further ageing.
• White wines show a greenish to straw-yellow or greenish-yellow colour with golden hues, with a high extract and glycerol content and an unctuous texture.
• Red wines offer fruity aromas of blueberry and black cherry, and with ageing develop notes of blackberry, ripe plum, morello cherry, and coffee, with the tannins softening toward tobacco, vanilla, and coconut.
• White wines are appealing for their vegetal aromas, rose petals, acacia blossom, and raspberry, and with maturation and ageing develop a characteristic note of honey.

• Ripening-period temperatures of around 23°C during the day and 12°C at night drive a continuous increase in grape sugar content while acidity remains constant or nearly constant.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Romania

Sources

• Specification (EUR-Lex, single document)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-RO-A0369
• Official trade body site — Oficiul Național al Viei și Produselor Vitivinicole (ONVPV) — DOC Lechinţa