It's the Fourth Annual Bulgarian Wine Month thanks to BulgarianWine.com! You can read all of the reviews from the first year (2015), the second year (2016), the third year (2017), and this year (2018) by following those links.
To read about the fascinating history of Bulgarian wine, check out Bulgaria - Part 1: Three-Thousand Years of Wine History. To learn about the grapes, wine regions and Bulgarian wine's place in the market, read Part 2: The Current State of Bulgarian Wine. And if you'd like to see what Bulgaria's national drink is all about, find out in Part 3: Invincibility of Rakia.
Today I've got the middle two of four wines by Domaine Boyar that I'm reviewing this month. Domaine Boyar was established in 1991 and was the first private winery in Bulgaria to be founded after communism. Although the winery is based out of Sofia, all of the wines I'll be reviewing from them are from Thracian Valley.
DOMAINE BOYAR SELECTION TRAMINER 2016
This is the third vintage that I've had of this wine. In 2015 I had the 2013 vintage (I gave it a 2/5 for Not Impressive) and in 2017 I had the 2015 vintage (I gave it a 3/5 for Satisfying) and with what I'm to say about it now it appears I'm learning to like it more each time I have it.
It has a 12% ABV and is a very pale yellow in color. Lychee nut and spearmint are super-duper big on the nose with ginger, sea salt, and lemon thyme playing around in the background. On the palate it's light bodied with a chalky mouthfeel and a balanced acidity. There's flavors of lychee nut, cantaloupe, kiwi, and spearmint. There's just so much more going on here now and it can't just be me; this has to be an improvement. The flavors don't vanish immediately on the finish like the 2015 vintage did. The finish is looooong with lychee nut and spearmint.
You know what? This is pretty friggin awesome! Realistically without coming across this before I'd probably give it a 4/5, but because I've had previous vintages before my surprise is bumping it up half a point. I'm really enjoying this glass! You can buy it here: https://bulgarianwine.com/wines/domaine-boyar-selection-traminer-2016/
DOMAINE BOYAR RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2015
That Traminer and this Cabernet were paired up last year on the same post. It was the 2014 vintage of this Cab and I gave it a 1/5 for Terrible. Yeah. It was "like somebody dropped a chalk ball in the barrel". Gross. However, the 2012 vintage that I had in 2015 was okay and I gave it a 3/5 for Satisfying. Will we have redemption here today? Nooooope.
Yet again chalky minerality is just overpowering. The fruit is unbalanced and strange, and it's just a flabby mess. I'm not going to go more into it because I'd rather point you in another direction...
Go check out my review of VINI Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 if you want an introductory level Cabernet from Bulgaria. That stuff is great.
QUALITY VS PRICE RATING
Today I've got the middle two of four wines by Domaine Boyar that I'm reviewing this month. Domaine Boyar was established in 1991 and was the first private winery in Bulgaria to be founded after communism. Although the winery is based out of Sofia, all of the wines I'll be reviewing from them are from Thracian Valley.
DOMAINE BOYAR SELECTION TRAMINER 2016
This is the third vintage that I've had of this wine. In 2015 I had the 2013 vintage (I gave it a 2/5 for Not Impressive) and in 2017 I had the 2015 vintage (I gave it a 3/5 for Satisfying) and with what I'm to say about it now it appears I'm learning to like it more each time I have it.
It has a 12% ABV and is a very pale yellow in color. Lychee nut and spearmint are super-duper big on the nose with ginger, sea salt, and lemon thyme playing around in the background. On the palate it's light bodied with a chalky mouthfeel and a balanced acidity. There's flavors of lychee nut, cantaloupe, kiwi, and spearmint. There's just so much more going on here now and it can't just be me; this has to be an improvement. The flavors don't vanish immediately on the finish like the 2015 vintage did. The finish is looooong with lychee nut and spearmint.
You know what? This is pretty friggin awesome! Realistically without coming across this before I'd probably give it a 4/5, but because I've had previous vintages before my surprise is bumping it up half a point. I'm really enjoying this glass! You can buy it here: https://bulgarianwine.com/wines/domaine-boyar-selection-traminer-2016/
QUALITY VS PRICE RATING
Price: $11
DOMAINE BOYAR RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2015
That Traminer and this Cabernet were paired up last year on the same post. It was the 2014 vintage of this Cab and I gave it a 1/5 for Terrible. Yeah. It was "like somebody dropped a chalk ball in the barrel". Gross. However, the 2012 vintage that I had in 2015 was okay and I gave it a 3/5 for Satisfying. Will we have redemption here today? Nooooope.
Yet again chalky minerality is just overpowering. The fruit is unbalanced and strange, and it's just a flabby mess. I'm not going to go more into it because I'd rather point you in another direction...
Go check out my review of VINI Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 if you want an introductory level Cabernet from Bulgaria. That stuff is great.
QUALITY VS PRICE RATING
Price: $11
The bottles used were supplied free of charge by BulgarianWine.com for the purpose of this unpaid review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.
0 comments:
Post a Comment