My family is a well-traveled one. So for this holiday season my dad and I brought together a bunch of wines from all around the world and had a great time drinking wine over the holidays. My dad had just returned from Bulgaria and brought back some bottles he was really excited about. They turned out to be really impressive. I’ve had Bulgarian wines before from small, serious producers, and have enjoyed them a lot. These were by far the best lot of Bulgarian wines I’ve come across. There were some other wines thrown in as well… I’ve omitted a lot of the less interesting tasting notes
Hope everyone had a great holiday as well.
2006 Wine Man Saperavi - Georgia, Kakheti (12/24/2011)
This is a great expression of the saperavi grape. I’ve had many vintages of this wine, and it is always really unique and delicious. My dad knew this as saperavi before I told him what I’d poured him. It’s just so unique that once you smell and taste it, you’ll always remember it. The aromas are an exquisite mix of orange rind, incense, cowhide and smoked olive. The palate shows strong cherry and cranberry fruit, big tannins, and hints of rhubarb and grape skin. The finish is lovely. My dad said this tied for his wine of the weekend. I was really happy that this turned out, considering I brought this bottle home from Ukraine in 2008 and have been holding on to it since. (90 pts.)
2007 Finca Sobreño Toro - Spain, Castilla y León, Toro (12/24/2011)
Even though this wine is only $15, it is a great wine and a serious crowdpleaser. I was both surprised that so many people loved this wine and not surprised, because toros are great wines to pour for new wine tasters. Vibrant ruby color in the glass. The nose showes tobacco, smoked berries, blueberry. What an energetic nose. The fruit feels fat, but the tannins are strong enough to keep it all balanaced. I love the lamb, cherry and coffee grind flavors of this wine. I brought this wine for my dad, as he is a lover of Spanish wines, and he really enjoyed it. (87 pts.)
2006 Domaine Menada Mavrud “Trinity” Reserve - Bulgaria, Thracian Valley, Granit (12/24/2011)
I was excited to taste this Bulgarian wine from the mavrud grape, as I’ve enjoyed Bulgarian mavrud before. My father brought this exciting wine back from a recent trip and it was a blast to open it on Christmas Eve. The nose showed red currants, rose petals and sour cherries. The palate starts off really bright and zesty with currant fruit and cranberry and lots of acid. Then it transitions into a darker wine with gritty tannins. The currant fruit, dried leaves and iron flavors are just delicious, highlighted with chocolate shavings and a flavor that reminded me of plum pits. This wine is very mysterious. It is as delicious as it is strange. But it is cleary well-made, and if anyone is interested in trying a mavrud wine, this is a stellar interpretation. (91 pts.)
2007 Domaine Menada Gewürztraminer “Trinity” - Bulgaria, Thracian Valley, Granit (12/25/2011)
I really like this interpretation of the grape. This wine is light gold in color. It has aromas of lychee, brie rind and something that reminds me of green olives. The aromas are really unique. The palate is light and steely in style. It starts off with a shot of grapefruit rind, followed by a rush of minerals and quinine. Very dry and bracing on the palate, with a finish showing cheese rind and a strong quinine flavor. This wine begs for oysters or shrimp or even pate. My dad and I loved discussing and sipping this wine, and my mother was also a big fan too. Perhaps an academic wine, but a really good one. (88 pts.)
1997 Grant Burge The Holy Trinity - Australia, South Australia, Barossa (12/25/2011)
The wine sang beautifully. Ruby color, kind of cloudy in the glass. Aromas of strawberry jam, red plum, stewed fruit compote. The aromas really developed with air to show more dried flowers and earth. The palate is full of gushy fruit, lots of acid and grippy tannins. Cranberry, dried rose petals, toast, smoked fruit flavors on a long, savory finish. We all enjoyed this wine while playing board games and discussed its changing aromas and flavors over the course of an hour. Truly beautiful wine. It is made from nearly equal amounts of grenache, syrah and mourvedre. (91 pts.)
2007 Todoroff Wine Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Thracians’ Mystery - Bulgaria, Thracian Valley (12/25/2011)
Wow, I am thrilled about this cabernet. Yes, it’s from Bulgaria, but it is a serious cabernet. I have tasted a lot of Eastern European reds, but never one with this kind of potential. It’s a vibrant purple color in the glass with thick ruby legs. The aromas of vanilla, currant, cinnamon toast and cola are intoxicating. It really reminds me of Napa Valley cabernet on the nose. The palate is seductively smooth, rich, but so balanced. There’s some hedonistic currant fruit, but this wine maintains an old world mystique with its flavors of sea salt and olive brine. It has the tannins to age for a very long time. This is a gorgeous cabernet that really has me interested in cabernet’s potential in Bulgaria. It was my wine of the weekend and several other people’s as well. Amazing! (93 pts.)