New, quality and at a good price.
The best Bulgarian wine brands.
If you associate wine primarily with the questionably strong-tasting house-made liquid, you must have missed out on the industry’s rapid progress in recent years. Specialty store shelves are now packed with quality wines that you will be proud to present to friends and family in Sofia, London or Madrid.
The reason? The wineries, which were nationalized after 1944, are now in the private hands of enthusiastic enthusiasts for whom good wine is both a dream and a goal to be achieved.
Most of the wineries grow the grapes in their own vineyards that contain Bulgarian varieties such as 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 barrels, foreign know-how and excellent teams of technologists and consultants. Best of all, connoisseurs get great wines at fair prices. Prepare your glasses and try 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 mostly make blended wines; when the vintage is very good, wines are made from a single grape variety. The wines mature in French and American oak barrels and then in the bottle. Dragomir’s products are a challenge for wine lovers to put their tasting skills to the test: Pitos and Karizma are a combination of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from the same vintage but the proportions and maturation time are different; Similarly, All in One and Sarva are blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Alicante Bouschet that have aged for different lengths of time. Wine collectors and restaurant owners alike will appreciate the Pitos and Sarva series. To sample the products, visit the winery’s sister location in the center of Plovdiv.
Small but starry.
The Bulgarian wine map features several wineries that depend on the favorable climate of the area along its southern border. Malkata zvezda, or the Little Star, is one of the new ones there. The winery appeared in 2005 in the area of the same name, which is the crossroads of the ancient Roman roads, 10 km southeast of Harmanli, on the Sakar mountain. The owners follow a well-proven model: they rely on their own vineyards and selected grapes from the area and use modern stainless steel winemakers and Bulgarian and French oak barrels. The limited series of red and white wines is presented under three labels: MZ, Enigma and Palitra. . Monks at the Bulgarian St. George Zograf Monastery on Mount Athos drink wine called Enigma of the Holy Mountain.
-Enigma Merlot
Bright ruby red in color, the nose is enticing with a rich palette of red fruits, plums and blackcurrants with a balanced flavor with velvety smooth tannins. The taste is full of aromas of dried fruits and herbs. The wine was aged for seven months in oak barrels.
-Wine from Sakar
Malkata Zvezda, or Little Star Winery, established in 2005, is based in the town of Malkata zvezda, 6 miles southeast of the city of Harmanli. The cellar is equipped with state-of-the-art stainless steel winemakers and Bulgarian and French oak barrels. The winery has its own Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pamid vineyards and also purchases selected grapes from the Sakar mountain region. The winery 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 that reflect the Sakar terroir. The product of Malkata zvezda is available in the market under three trademarks: Palitra, Enigma, MZ.
of the red fort
Another young Bulgarian winery is Casta Rubra. The Telish Winery’s new cellar is named after the early Byzantine fortress discovered near Harmanli in 2007. With an investment of one million leva and a world-class consultant like renowned French flying winemaker Michel Rolland, Castra Rubra boasts excellent Own vineyards, new barrels and excellent quality at fair prices. To check the lyrics for yourself, look for the Via Diagonalis; the reds and whites in the Nimbus series made from intriguing varieties such as Sauvignon Gri, Grenache Blamc and Sura, which are unpopular in Bulgaria; Casta Rbra premium wine; and the latest Rolland blends from the Tt 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. He owns more than 150 acres of vineyards around the village of Novo Selo near Vidin and grows grapes that produce elegant, aromatic wines. Every detail in its production, from the harvest to the bottling of the wines, is considered important. The Novo Selo winery specializes in making limited series of white and red wines, both from well-known grape varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Muscat Ottonel and Chardonnay, as well as from the regional Novoselska gamza. On the market, Vidinska Gamza offers the Meteriz and Novoselsko Vino series, named after the areas where the respective grapes are grown: two series of wines with memorable flavor and aroma of supreme quality that will satisfy even the most demanding palate.
good heritage
Bulgarian Heritage wines debuted 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 remains on the long-standing vine growing and wine-making traditions in the region. In addition to the typical white wine from the Dunabian Plain, red wine is also produced. Give it a try: Bulgarian Heritage bottles contain excellent Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.
From the Bessae Valley
Enira is one of the few Bulgarian wines reviewed by the Financial Times and the British specialized edition Decanter. It is made by Bessa Valley, a winery that was built in the village of Ognyanovo near Pazardzhik in 2003. Its name comes from the Thracian tribe that inhabited the area in ancient times. Cosmopolitanism is a hallmark of the wine estate: its owners are Count Stephan von Neipperg, who has six wineries in Bordeaux, and German banker Dr. Karl-Heinz Hauptmann. The manager of the winery is the French winemaker Marc Dworkin. Enira is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Syrah in different proportions depending on the year. Currently, the market offers bottles from the 2007 vintage and from the Reserva series from previous years.
bottled magic
If there were awards for the winery that has established itself most quickly, Rumelia in Panagyurishte, founded in 2006, would be among the winners. He turned grapes from the 135 acres of specially cultivated vineyards near the village of Smilets into elite wine so quickly that it has won 15 prestigious international awards so far, including at MUNDUSVini in Germany, VINALIES in France, Decanter in the 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 barrel-type oak barrels. If you are already eager to learn about Rumelia wines that owe their quality to strict control during production, why not come and experience it first hand? The winery offers wine tours and when you enter its tasting room, you will feel like you want to stay there forever.
Eldest brother
The largest domestic producer, Domaine Boyar, built its winery in Sliven with Australian design and French equipment. Its Boyar, XR and Oravinifera labels were the first on the Bulgarian market with screw caps. Their Cluster blend wines are of a higher class, while the superior Solitaire series is made in small batches at the Korten village winery. Domaine Boyar participated in the prestigious Wine Challenge 2009 international competition 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 Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and Grand Cepage grapes, all of which are distinguished by the exceptional flavor of the respective grape variety. Domaine Boyar is the world’s leading producer and exporter of Bulgarian wines. The company sets trends in the field of marketing Bulgarian wines and successfully sells its production on the international market. One of the main advantages of the company is the invariable quality of its products, which is the result of long experience and modern technologies that guarantee constant quality in each bottle almost 100 percent.
Khan Krum Laws
Established in 1939 and having become iconic for its fine wine, the winery in the village of Khan Krum near Shumen was extensively modernized in 2005. Its own vineyards consist mainly of white grape varieties: chardonnay, traminer, Rhine Riesling and dimyat but There are already red wines aged in the cellar as well. Khan Krum’s brand includes the affordable Grace series; bag-in-box wines; and the Winemaker’s Choice in the higher price segment. The 2007 Chardonnay from this series won a medal at the 2008 International Wine Challenge. Starting in November, the winery celebrates its 70th anniversary with the launch of the 1939 brand.