Why it matters
The producer
Chateau de Purcari sits in the IGP Ștefan Vodă region of south-eastern Moldova, where it has made wine since a Russian imperial decree of 1827. Its founding by Emperor Nicholas I, who granted it the status of first specialised winery in Bessarabia, was an act of imperial ambition as much as viticulture. The estate survived tsarist Russia, Soviet collectivisation, a long dormancy, and a complete rebuilding before re-emerging as the anchor property of Purcari Wineries PLC, now the largest exporter of bottled wine from Moldova.
The wine Chateau de Purcari is known for is Negru de Purcari: a red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Saperavi, and Rara Neagra, three grape varieties from three different wine cultures combined in one Moldovan bottle. Since 2015 the group has accumulated more than 130 Decanter awards, and in 2021 held the title of Most Awarded Winery in the World at the Decanter World Wine Awards. CEO Victor Bostan manages 300 hectares of owned vineyards at the château, believing direct control of the land is the only reliable way to control the fruit.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Ștefan Vodă is a wine region in south-eastern Moldova, roughly 60 kilometres south-east of the capital Chișinău, close to the Nistru river and the Ukrainian border. The climate is continental: cold winters, hot dry summers, and long warm autumns that push grapes to full phenolic ripeness. Cabernet Sauvignon, which needs reliable heat through the growing season, reaches full maturity in this part of Moldova without the extraction pressure that cooler vintages create further north.
The estate vineyards in Ștefan Vodă sit on chalky clay soils over a limestone base. Clay retains moisture through dry summers and moderates vine stress, while the limestone subsoil provides natural drainage and contributes to the mineral undercurrent that appears in aged bottles of Negru de Purcari. The south and south-east aspects of the main parcels give direct sun exposure through the afternoon, contributing to the full pigmentation and ripe tannin character of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Saperavi components.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Victor Bostan's 300 hectares of owned estate vineyards are hand-harvested, with night picking in warmer years to preserve natural acidity in the fruit. Hand selection in the vineyard and at the sorting table feeds directly into the quality of the Negru de Purcari blend, where Rara Neagra in particular requires careful selection: the grape is thin-skinned, prone to oxidation if picked late, and contributes aromatic lift and red berry acidity only when harvested at the right moment.
In the cellar, Negru de Purcari spends 18 months in French oak barriques after completing malolactic fermentation. The barrique ageing builds the vanilla and spice layers that integrate with the darker fruit from Cabernet Sauvignon and Saperavi. Malolactic fermentation softens the malic edge from both Saperavi and Rara Neagra, converting sharper acids to the rounder lactic form that contributes to the velvety palate weight the wine is known for.
Wines to know
The range in view
Negru de Purcari is the estate's internationally recognised flagship. It is a red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Saperavi, and Rara Neagra, with Cabernet Sauvignon forming the structural frame, Saperavi adding depth of colour and grip, and Rara Neagra, a native Moldovan variety, contributing red berry brightness and aromatic lift to soften the blend. Proportions shift by vintage. The wine carries a stated ageing potential of 10 to 20 years or more, and older vintages show how the initial plum and chocolate fruit evolves toward dried fruit, tobacco, and leather.
Beyond Negru de Purcari, the broader Purcari Wineries PLC group makes wines from its Romania and Bulgaria facilities under separate labels, covering multiple price points and market segments. Wines made under the Chateau Purcari name in the IGP Ștefan Vodă are the estate's premium tier. The group also produces varietal wines from Rara Neagra alone, a single-variety expression that shows what the grape does on its own: lighter colour, red cherry and cranberry fruit, fresh acidity, and softer tannin than the Negru blend.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Negru de Purcari is the bottle to start with. It is the wine this estate has made in one form or another since the nineteenth century, the one that won in Paris in 1878, and the one that most directly shows what Moldovan viticulture can do with an unusual combination of grapes. In the glass it gives ripe plum and dark chocolate on the nose, then a full, smooth palate with fine tannin and a long finish of vanilla and dried spice. It is not a light wine: the fruit weight and the 18-month barrique ageing give it a serious mid-palate.