Thracian Lowlands, Bulgaria, presented by Ray O'Connor MW

With Ray O'Connor

Unusual opportunity offered to us today by Westbury Communication in London: Bulgarian wines from the lowlands of Thracia. Excellent introduction by Ray O'Connor, MW. Here are the main takeaways.

The Greeks cultivated vines first in this region, but it was the Romans, as so often everywhere in Europe, that brought a systematic organization of wine production, with rules and laws about what to grow, how and how much.

The subsequent Ottoman rule all but quashed the wine industry and it was only in the 1870s, the Russia liberated Bulgaria from the Turks that wine production picked up once more. During the communist times, from 1945 to 1989, Bulgarian wine thrived because in the socialist planning the country was designated as a wine producing region. It was supposed to bottle wine for other countries of the socialist bloc that did not have the same comparative advantage in terms of climate and tradition. Because of the lack of a market economy wine was sometimes bartered instead of sold, even with western companies like Pepsi Cola, which unlike Coca Cola always had a good business relationship with the Soviet Union and its satellite countries: socialist wine for capitalist Pepsi!

With the return to market economy in the 1990s there was a huge task to be completed before production could restart on a new basis: return to the legitimate owners the land that had been expropriated by the Communist Party. Thereafter, the new/old owners started to stress quality over quantity, reduced bulk wine production and began to address the demand of the rising middle class, as well as of the export market.

Uniquely in Europe, and contrary to the old traditions that dated back to the Romans, Bulgaria decided to establish very loose rules for its denominations, and instead let the producers use their imagination to make pretty much whatever wine they wanted.

Here are my tasting notes:

Burgozone Via Istrum Tamyanka 2022, Danubian plain

tamyanka 100%

Intense,  aromatic, fresh with a citrus peel finish.

RRP £ 18. Score 86

Bononia Estate Vrachanski Misket 2022

Vrachanski misket 100%

Marked texture, fresh, citrus, sapid end

RRP 16. Score 86

Chateau Copsa Cuvée blanc 2022

50% chardonnay, 40% misket, 10% sauvignon

Intense and complex, fresh, floral.

RRP 16. Score 88

Vinex Slaviantsi reseerve Chardonnay 2021

Chardonnay 100%

Intense, complex, balanced and long.

RRP 12. Score 90

Aya Estate melnik 2021

Broadleaved melnik (Ranna Melnishka Loza) 100%

Spices, herbal, dry, a bit astringent. Might benefit from more time in the bottle.

RRP £20. Score 85

Rupel Gramatik Rubin Barrique 2020 from Struma valley

Rubin 100%

A structured wine, tobacco, herbal, definitely needs more time in the bottle to round corners.

RRP 20. Score 87

Domaine Boyar Korten Natura Mavrud & Rubin 2021

mavrud 68% and rubin 32% French oak barrels

Good structure yet lots of fruit, ready now with some potential for evolution.

RRP £ 10.50 Score 87

Katarzyna Estate Seven Grapes 2021

Cab sauvignon, merlot, syrah, malbec, tempranillo, cab franc, mavrud

Fresh, coffee, spices, structure, good length.

RRP £13.50. Score 89

Minkov Brothers Oak Tree 2016, Thracian Lowlands

cabernet sauvignon, cab franc, merlot

Complex, balanced and long.

RRP 29. Score 92

Slaten Rozhen Sycagy 2017, Struma valley

Syrah 33%, cab franc 33% and sangiovese 33%

Amazingly fruity and flowery, spices, tannins need some rounding.

RRP 30. Score 88

Bulgarian wines overview. Courtesy of Ray O'Connor

Furmint tasting by Wines of Hungary

Unfined and unfiltered furmint bubbles

This was a broad ranging tasting with much more than could be tasted in one day presented at a well organized walk-around at Painters’ Hall in London courtesy of Wines of Hungary.

This time I decided to focus on still 100% dry furmint wines, leaving aside the sweet ones which I had had occasions to taste in the past.

Below are my notes from the most interesting glasses of furmint I had a chance to taste today.

Garamvari Estate

2019 Balaton sparkling: zesty, fresh, ready now but with some potential for evolution. Score 86

2016 Tokaji sparkling: fragrant, evolved and mature. Score 89

TR Wines Tokaji 

Organic pet-nat 2022. Slightly bitter and opaque because it is unfined and unfiltered. Floral notes. An intriguing wine much different from all the others. Score 90.

Beres Tokaji

Locse furmint 2017. A complex wine with a slight bitter ending, well balanced and mod long. Score 90

DHP Tokaji

Nyergesek 2019. A mid-range balanced wine with mod length. Score 88

Szent Tamas Summit 2018. Their best and most complex wine. Score 90

Harsanyi Winery - Tokaji

Dry Szamorodni. Bone dry, almonds Slight bitter ending. Score 86

Spiegelberg Artisan Winery - Somlo

Harslevelu 2013. Balanced and complex, slight bitter ending. Score 89

Sauska - Tokaji

Birsalmas 2019. Complex and long. Score 92

Szepsy - Tokaji

Furmint 2018. Balanced fragrant. Score 89

Hetszolo organic vineyards - Tokaji

Dry selection 2011. Well aged wine, slight bitterness, balanced. Score 93

The 2018 is still young, I scored it 88 but it isnot ready yet.

sorry I forgot to shave today!

Discover Gavi trade masterclass

A rare, if not once in a lifetime, opportunity to attend a masterclass organized in London by The Drinks Business and entirely devoted to one of the most underappreciated varieties of Italy. Patrick Schmitt MW, just back from the region, led us through a tasting of 10 of the best Gavi wines, made exclusively with cortese grapes. This is the highlights of what I learned today.

Gavi vineyards lie in south-eastern Piedmont, near Liguria, which explains why even in a landlocked region there is some influence of the sea climate, which is reflected in viticulture by adding a touch of freshness and delicate taste that is often associated to coastal vineyards. All of this land is cultivated with cortese vines, which constitutes some 60% of all the cortese planted in Italy.

Some dates and numbers: the first indication of viticulture in the region dates back to the year 972 AD. Some 500 families work on Gavi wines in 190 companies which are part of the Consorzio (cooperative) founded in 1993. 1600 hectares of cortese planted and produce about 13 million bottles and 65 million euros of revenue, 85% of which comes from exports. The UK is its first export market. DOC certification dates back to 1974 and DOCG to 1998.

I left the tasting amazed at how Gavi wines, which I always considered easy and light bottles to be drunk young, can deliver excellent quality, complexity and especially aging potential. Buy some and put them away before too many people discover them and prices rise!

Prices are indicative merchant prices in the UK.

La Meirana
Gavi del Comune di Gavi, 2022 

Round, long and moderately complex, 100% steel.

£15, score 90

Ghio Roberto Vigneti Piemontemare

Vigna Pian Lazzarino, Gavi del Comune di Gavi, 2022

Smooth, evolved.

£10, score 91

La Smilla

Gavi del Comune di Gavi, 2022

Oaked 5 to 10 months, 25yo vines.

£ 15, score 92

Massone Stefano

Gavi del Comune di Gavi, 2022

Almost tropical fruit, peach, smooth end with gentle bitterness.

£ 15, score 92

Produttori del Gavi

Gavi del Comune di Gavi, 2022

Steel. Citrussy, very fresh, slight pleasant bitterness at the end.

£ 15, score 88

Tenuta San Lorenzo

Gavi, 2022

No oak, good balance and length.

£ 15, score 88

Castello di Tassarolo

Alborina Gavi del Comune di Tassarolo, 2021

Good balance and intensity, long and complex.

£ 15, score 93

La Raia

Vigna Madonnina, Gavi Riserva, 2020

Balanced and complex.

£ 25, score 93

Castellari Bergaglio

Gavi del Comune di Gavi, 2018

Slightly honeyed, recalls Chablis style. Evolved, ready now.

£ 25, score 93

Tenuta San Pietro in Tassarolo

Il Mandorlo, Gavi del Comune di Tassarolo, 2016

Long, complex and balanced with toasted notes. Ready with some aging potential The best wine of the day.

£ 25, score 94

Italian Portfolio Tasting in London by Winetraders

A mix and match of Italian wines by Wintraders UK, with some gems to be noted at the end of the afternoon. Here they are.

Corte Sant'Alda

Amarone della Valpolicella 2016.

A balanced wine with good minerality for an Amarone.

RRP £57. Score 92.

Recioto della Valpolicella, 2019

Balanced and long.

RRP £32. Score 92.

Inama

Soave Classico 2021

Zesty, fresh. RRP £37. Score 90

La Vedetta

Barbaresco 2020

Balanced and complex, long, potential for evolution.

RRP £ 34. Score 93.

Barbaresco Cà Grossa 2019

Great structure, will reach its apex in a few years.

RRP £45. Score 94

Cabutto

Barolo Riserva del Fondatore, 2016

Superb structure, balance and length. Give it a few more years.

RRP £61. Score 93

Walter Massa

Colli tortonesi Barbera Bigolla 2010

Round, balanced and long, a mature wine, perhaps the best today. RRP £ 52. Score 95

Montefili

Toscana IGT Anfiteatro 2016

Complex, long still a bit abrupt, and will benefit from time in the bottle.

RRP £67. Score 90

Vike Vike

Cannonau Ghirlanda Fittiloghe 2020

20yo vines, still fresh, structured, long. A little patience required.

RRP £ 28. Score 89

Cannonau di Sardegna Ghirada Gurguruò 2020

30yo vines, an imposing wine, balanced and long.

RRP £43 Score 94

Barbagia rosso Ghirlanda Istevene 2020

100yo vines (!) a harmonious wine that lacks nothing.

RRP £ 57. Score 95

Soddu

Cannonau Brulleri Ghirada Bruncu Boeli Ris 2020

Round complex and long

RRP £31. Score 95

Sardinian wines carried the day!

Wines of the Loire Valley

Another informative trade tasting on the Loire valley organized in London by Charles Sydney Wines, a specialist on this region who is based in London.

Here are my notes from my favorite wines of the day. 

Alphonse Mellot

Generation XIX, Sancerre blanc 2020
The name indicates that this is a product of the 19th generation of wine producers in the Mellot family. Perfectly balanced oak-fermented sauvignon, mod long and complex. RRP £40. Score 93.

Edmond, Sancerre Blanc, 2020

A full bodied oak-fermented sauvignon,  very complex and long. A harmonious wine. RRP £45. Score 95.

Jean Philippe Blot, Domaine de la Taille aux Loups

Triple Zero (no sugar, no bottle fermentation, no dosage) pétillant naturel

Smooth and mod long, good value. RRP £13, Score 89

Remus Montlouis 2022

Blend of different plots, very smooth and long chenin blanc. RRP £15. Score 90

Clos Michel Montlouis 2022

Better balance than predecessor. RRP 16, Score 92

Clos de Husseau, 2022

Minerality emerges from this single plot wine. RRP 17, score 92

I also tasted several sweet wines, but to be honest I was not overly impressed, a bit too sweet and sticky. Here they are.

Château Pierre Bise Coteaux du Layon Rochefort 2022, RRP £11, Score 86

Château Pierre Bise Quarts des Chaue Grand Cru 2022, RRP £ 22.40, Score 85.

Domaine des Forges, Quart de Chaume Grand Cru 2021, RRP £19.70, Score 84

Slideshow: the wine of Madeira

 This is a presentation I have put together in 2023 for presentation on cruise ships and private events.

Wines of Moldova - Trade tasting of Purcari Chateau

Unique tasting of wines from southeastern Europe today in London. While Romanian and Bulgarian wines were included, I will focus on Moldovan wines here ad this was the first time I have had a chance to taste them.

Thank you to Wine Communication for organizing this event and to Caroline Gilby, a top expert of Eastern European wines, for guiding us through the tasting.

Specifically the samples provided were from the Chateau Purcari estate, an iconic winery that dates back to 1812. Originally it was created by French settlers who came in the wake of Napoleon's invasion, and following the many ups and downs of Moldovan history it ended up being nationalized when the country found itself as part of the Soviet Union and it socialist system. After the end of that era in 1989 Moldova once again became independent and in the early 2000s the estate was privatized. It is now a public company quoted on the Bucharest stock exchange with additional vineyards in Romania and Bulgaria.

Victor Bostan is its proud boss now, and Federico Giotto, a famous Italian winemaker, helps him improve the quality of the wines. In total Purcari plants 300ha of vines and has set up a state of the art winery with sustainable criteria such as solar panel to provide electricity.

Tasting notes

Cuvee Purcari Alba Brut

Feteasca alba 100%. Traditional method for a delicate and fresh bubbly. Score 86

Nocturne Viorica 2022

Viorica grape, combines aromatic nose to fresh palate. It is a resistant grape that requires little intervention in the vineyard. Score 88

Academia viorica, orange wine

Some pleasant bitter end as expected from an orange wine, good structure. Score 88

Pinot noir native 2021, Smooth mod structure , Score 85

Rara Neagra 2022 

Smooth, traditionally treated as a workhorse grape but good potential, still lacks complexity. Score 83

Academia rara neagra 2020

6 months in amphora, Smooth medium structure. Ready score 88

Separavi de Purcari 

Separavi grape. Fruity, fresh, alcohol, Score 84

Malori de Prut 

65% rara neagra 35% feteasca Neagra, Score 86 

Freedom blend

The name wants to celebrate the independence of Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine from the USSR. 

65% Separavi 20% rara neagra, 15% bastardo. A mid-range wine with moderate complexity and structure. Score 85

Negru de Purcari limited edition 2019 

55% cab sauvignon 40% Separavi 5% rara neagra. Score 90 The best Moldovan wine today.