Message in a Bottle From Bulgaria
New, quality and reasonably priced.
The best wine brands of Bulgaria.
If you associate wine mostly with the questionable sharp-tasting liquid made at home, you must have missed the fast progress of the sector in recent years. The shelves of specialised shops are now stocked with quality wines that you will be proud to present to friends and relatives in Sofia, London, or Madrid.
The reason? The wineries, which were nationalized after 1944, are now in the private hands of motivated enthusiasts for whom good wine is both a dream and an aim to pursue.
Most wineries grow the grapes in their own vineyards containing Bulgarian varieties such us mavrud and rubin, the well-known French cabernet, merlot and surah and newer ones such as viognier, malbec and tempranillo. Good grapes are only the first step in winemaking. For the second producers have to invest millions of leva in modern cellars and new oak casks, foreign known-how and excellent teams of technologist and consultants. The best thing is that connoisseurs get superb wines at fair prices. Get your glasses ready and taste our selection of the best Bulgarian wines.
Find the Differences.
One of the newest wineries is under construction in the village of Dragomir, located near Plovdiv at the foot of the Sredna Gora Mountain. Its owners are two oenologists, who make blended wines mostly; when the vintage is very good they come up with wines from a single grape variety. Wines mature in French and US oak barrels and then in bottles. The products of Dragomir are a challenge for wine lovers to try out their wine-tasting skills: Pitos and Karizma are a combination of cabernet sauvignon and merlot from the same vintage but the proportions and the length of maturation are different; in same way, All in One and Sarva are blends of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and Alicante Bouschet thet have aged for different periods of time. Wine collectors and restaurant owners will appreciate the Pitos and Sarva series. To sample the products, visit the cellar’s sister venue in downtown Plovdiv.
Small But Starry.
Bulgaria’s wine map features several wineries that rely on the favourable climate of the area along its south border. Malkata zvezda, or the Small Star, is among the new ones there. The winery appeared in 2005 in the eponymous area, which is the crossroads of ancient Roman roads, 10 km southeast of Harmanli, in the Sakar Mountain. The owners follow a well-tried model: they rely on their own vineyards and selected grapes from the area and use modern stainless steel vinificators and Bulgarian and French oak barriques The limited red and white wine series come under three labels: MZ, Enigma and Palitra. The monks in the Bulgarian monastery Saint George the Zograf on Mt Athos drink wine called Holy Mountain Enigma.
-Enigma Merlot
Bright ruby red in color, the nose is tempting with a rich palette of red fruits, plum and black currant with a well-balanced taste soft velvety tannins. The flavor is full of aromas of dried fruits and herbs. The wine was aged for seven months in oak barrels.
-Wine from Sakar – The Malkata Zvezda, or Little Star, winery, established in 2005, is based on the Malkata zvezda locality 6 miles southeast of the town of Harmanli. The wine cellar is equipped with state-of-the-art steel inox vinificators and Bulgarian and French oak barriques. The winery has its own vineyards of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and pamid and also buys selected grapes from the Sakar mountain region. The wine cellar produces high-quality red wines from the Merlot, Caberne Sauvignon, Mavrud, Syrah and Pamid varieties as well as limited series of Chardonney, Dimyat and Ugni Blanc white wines reflecting the Sakar terroir. Malkata zvezda’s produce is available on the market in three trade marks: Palitra, Enigma, MZ.
From the red Fortress
Another young Bulgarian wine cellar is Casta Rubra. The Telish winery’s new cellar was named after the Early Byzantine fortress discovered near Harmanli in 2007. With a million leva investment and such a world-class consultant as the renowned French flying wine maker Michel Rolland, Castra Rubra boasts excellent vineyards of its own, new barriques and excellent quality at equitable prices. To check the letter yourself, look for the Via Diagonalis; the reds and whites from the Nimbus series made of intriguing varieties such as Sauvignon Gri, Grenache Blamc and Sura, which are unpopular in Bulgaria; the premium Casta Rbra wine; and Rolland’s latest blends from the T-t label: Alicante Bouschet and Merlot; Sangiovese and Merlot; and Mavrud and Merlot.
North-Northwest
Vidinska Gamza is a relatively new winery on the Bulgarian market. It owns over 150 acres of vineyards around the village of Novo Selo near Vidin and grows grapes that make aromatic and elegant wines. Every detail in their production, from the picking of the grapes to the bottling of the wines, is considered important. The Novo Selo winery specializes in the production of limited series of white and red wines, both from well-known grape varieties such as merlot, cabernet sauvignon, Muscat Ottonel and chardonnay and the regional novoselska gamza. On the market, Vidinska Gamza offers the Meteriz and Novoselsko Vino series, which are named after the areas, where the respective grapes are grown: two series of wines with memorable taste and aroma and of supreme quality that will satisfy even the most discerning palate.
Good Heritage
The Bulgarian Heritage wines had their debut in 2007, when their first vintage appeared. Despite this the terroir in the village of Kilifarevo, at the foot of the Balkan mountains, is exceptionally suited to the production of white and red sorts of high quality wines and it rests on the long-standing vine growing and wine-making traditions in the region. Besides the white wine typical of the Dunabian Plain, it produces red wine too. Do try it: Bulgarian Heritage bottles contain excellent chardonnay, pinot gris, pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon.
From the Valley of the Bessae
Enira is among the few Bulgarian wines reviewed by the Financial Times and the British specialized edition Decanter. It is made by Bessa Valley, a winery which was built in the village of Ognyanovo near Pazardzhik in 2003. Its name comes from that of the Thracian tribe which inhabited the area in antiquity. Cosmopolitanism is a distinctive feature of the winemaking estate: its owners are Count Stephan von Neipperg, who has six wine cellars in Bordeaux, and German banker Dr Karl-Heinz Hauptmann. Manager of the winery is French oenologist Marc Dworkin. Enira is a blend or merlot, cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot and syrah in different proportions depending on the year. At present, the market offers bottles from vintage 2007 and the Reserva series from previous years.
Bottled Magic
If there were prizes for the winery that has become established the most quickly, Rumelia in Panagyurishte, founded in 2006, would be among the winners. It turned the grapes from the specially grown 135 acres of vines near the village of Smilets into elite wine so fastthat has won 15 prestigious international awards so far, including at MUNDUSVini in Germany, VINALIES in France, Decanter in UK, and Concours Mondial Bruxelles in Belgium. The upward trend began with the first series of Merul and Merul Reserve, which mature for 12 months in barrique type oak barrels. If you are already eager to get to know Rumelia’s wines which owe their quality to the strict control during production, why not go there to get a first-hand experience? The winery offers wine tours and when you enter its wine-tasting room, you will feel like you want to stay there forever.
Big Brother
The biggest national producer, Domaine Boyar, built its winery in Sliven using Australian design and French equipment. Its Boyar, XR and Oravinifera labels were the first on the Bulgarian market with screw caps. Its blended Cluster wines are of a higher class while the Solitaire top series is made in small quantities in the winery in the Village of Korten. Domaine Boyar took part I the prestigious international Wine Challenge 2009 in London. Solitaire Merlot 2007 and DB Merlot 2008 won bronze medals. Vintage 2008 has rewarded the many years of efforts and ambitions to expand the Solitaire range with three new wines from the Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and Grand Cepage grapes, all of which are distinctive for the exceptional flavor, of the respective grape variety. Domaine Boyar is the leading producer and exporter of Bulgarian wines in the world. The company is a trendsetter in the field of marketing of Bulgarian wines and sells its production successfully on international market. One of the main advantages of the company is the is the invariable quality of its products, which is the result of long-standing experience and modern technologies that guarantee unchanging quality in every bottle nearly 100 percent.
Khan Krum’s Laws
Established in 1939 and having become emblematic for its good wine, the winery in the village of Khan Krum near Shumen was extensively modernized in 2005 Its own vineyards comprise mainly white grape varieties: chardonnay, traminer, Rhine Riesling and dimyat but there are already red wines ageing in the cellar too. Khan Krum’s brand include the affordable Grace series; bag-in-box wines; and the Wine Maker’s Selection in the higher price segment. Chardonnay 2007 from this series won a medal at the International Wine Challenge 2008. Starting in November the cellar is selebrating its 70th anniversary by launching the 1939 brand.
About the Author
“Message in a Bottle From Bulgaria”
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