After having dictated consumer trades in the entry-level segment as well as the medium one for several years, in 2011 Murfatlar Romania launches M1 Crama Atelier. This is a very small winery whose main objective is to produce premium wines (addressed exclusively to HoReCa). The project is a statement of intent from the largest Romanian wine producer, according to which a large wine cellar can bring to the attention of fans and consumers premium and super-premium quality wines.
The first steps taken towards the development of the winery were naming the well-known journalist Dan Bundur General Manager and hiring Stefanie Binder - with over 6 years of experience in sales for Murfatlar Romania - as a Director of Sales. Strengthening the sales team and, of course, building the winery, followed next. In the spring of 2014, Valentin Ceafalau - former editor in chief at Vinul.ro magazine - joined the team, becoming a Promotions Manager.
After an investment of 550.000 Eur, one wing of the main building was turned into M1. Atelier Winery is "the small winery born of a large winery" and is equipped with the latest technology - small stainless steel tanks and new Romanian oak barrels.
As special projects require special people, the worldwide famous Razvan Macici - Cellar Master at the famous Nederburg Winery, South Africa - was hired as a wine expert consultant. He is well-known for having been named the best South-African wine expert in 2012, as weel as for being the one who brought out "World Cup 2010 South Africa” wines. As he wanted to regenerate both Murfatlar wines and Romanian wines, Razvan Macici agreed to become the hallmark of Atelier Winery wines.
With a processing capacity of approximately 250,000 liters per year (170,000 liters in stainless steel tanks and 600 small Romanian oak barrels, with a capacity of 300 liters each) the winery has become Razvan Macici's and his team's "wineshop", a place where technology testing and experiments take place every year in order to create a portfolio of wines that meet a wide range of tastes. To keep up with the latest trends in wine, in 2014 Atelier Winery was equipped with three cement amphorae, and fermentation and maturation vessels used by renowned manufacturers such as Petrus, Chateau Lafite, Pontet Canet, Domaine de la Romanee Conti or Chapoutier.
To ensure consistent quality of grapes, the best 30 hectares of vines were chosen - old vine plots with the best potential for each variety and the best pedoclimate - of the 3,100 Murfatlar Romania is currently using. The continental climate, the diversity of locations for the vines, the protective effect of relief against predominantly North-Eastern cold currents, the favorable impact of the Black Sea and the Danube Delta which mitigate the effects of heat and excessive frost, they all create a unique micro-climate for the vineyard.
The winery has produced wines from the Murfatlar terroir, using modern methods, similar to the New World style. Much attention was paid to the way the wines were made, they are balanced, and a lot of dense ripe fruit was used. Produced in limited series, they are classified into several collections with different target audience groups: Sable Noble (friendly wines, intense and rich, made by blending several varieties), Arezan (collection of Romanian varieties), Leat 6500 The Origin (intended for international varieties), Amprenta (showing terroir expression and vintage), Charme de la Mer (concept product, which aims to bring together young consumers of wine) and Fatum (redefines destiny through art and wine with every harvest).
In order to produce these wines, even the winemaking technology used is unique for Romania: grapes are harvested manually and cooled to a temperature of 8 ° C for antimicrobial and bacteriological stabilization. The second day of harvest, grapes undergo a double manual sorting: first the clusters and then the grains. Afterwards they enter the winemaking process.Red wines are aged 12-24 months in Romanian oak barrels, and later poured into bottles. Labels and counter-labels signed by Razvan Macici represent a unique marketing concept for the Romanian market, being extremely intuitive and rich in information, with a removable stamp especially made for collectors.
We invite you to visit the winery's website www.cramaatelier.ro. You can check / download the datasheets of all wines made at Atelier Winery, and, amongst other information, you can read the list of stores where you'll find M1 wines.
