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 last of seven wines by VINI that I'm reviewing this month and the first of four wines by Domaine Boyar. VINI was created by Vance Petrunoff, president of Bulgarian Master Vintners, as an affordable introduction of Bulgarian wine to the American mainstream market. 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.
VINI ROSÉ 2017
This rosé is 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Syrah, has an ABV of 12.5%, and is salmon pink in color. Back in 2015 I fell in love with the 2013 vintage of this wine, so let's hope that I fall in love with this vintage too!
Again the nose has a combination of berries and citrus that reminds me of Fruit Loops, and a little white pepper kick to it. It's a bigger bodied rosé with an oily mouthfeel and a touch of sweetness. There's flavors of succulent strawberries, red apples, and caramel. I didn't get plum until I read BulgarianWine.com's description after making my notes, and plum there is! Then it finishes with red apple, Jolly Rancher watermelon candy, and that touch of sweetness sticking to your lips.
I'm not as crazy about it as I was three years ago, but it's still delicious as hell and I gotta give it a recommendation! Yum yum! You can buy it here: https://bulgarianwine.com/wines/2016-vini-rose-of-pinot-noir-and-syrah/
DOMAINE BOYAR RESERVE MERLOT 2015
This wine has a 13% ABV and is an inky purple red in color. And it's another wine that I fell in love with back in 2015 when I had the 2012 vintage.
The nose remains Port-ish with raisins, plums, maple, caramel, and ethanol. My oh my, what a big nose you have! On the palate it's medium bodied with grainy tannin and a bright acidity that livens up the fruit. There's flavors of toffee, cranberries, plums, and nuts. Then it finishes with a syrupy coating of cranberries, raspberries, and oak.
I gave the 2012 a 5/5 because it was close to tasting like it was appassimento (I even said "classy sweetness, not cheap sweetness") while this is more along the lines of a jammy $11 Merlot with some residual sugar. But I still like it, you'll probably like it, and it's still good for the price. So I'm giving it a 3/5 for Satisfying. You can buy it here: https://bulgarianwine.com/wines/2012-domaine-boyar-reserve-merlot/
Today I've got the last of seven wines by VINI that I'm reviewing this month and the first of four wines by Domaine Boyar. VINI was created by Vance Petrunoff, president of Bulgarian Master Vintners, as an affordable introduction of Bulgarian wine to the American mainstream market. 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.
VINI ROSÉ 2017
This rosé is 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Syrah, has an ABV of 12.5%, and is salmon pink in color. Back in 2015 I fell in love with the 2013 vintage of this wine, so let's hope that I fall in love with this vintage too!
Again the nose has a combination of berries and citrus that reminds me of Fruit Loops, and a little white pepper kick to it. It's a bigger bodied rosé with an oily mouthfeel and a touch of sweetness. There's flavors of succulent strawberries, red apples, and caramel. I didn't get plum until I read BulgarianWine.com's description after making my notes, and plum there is! Then it finishes with red apple, Jolly Rancher watermelon candy, and that touch of sweetness sticking to your lips.
I'm not as crazy about it as I was three years ago, but it's still delicious as hell and I gotta give it a recommendation! Yum yum! You can buy it here: https://bulgarianwine.com/wines/2016-vini-rose-of-pinot-noir-and-syrah/
DOMAINE BOYAR RESERVE MERLOT 2015
This wine has a 13% ABV and is an inky purple red in color. And it's another wine that I fell in love with back in 2015 when I had the 2012 vintage.
The nose remains Port-ish with raisins, plums, maple, caramel, and ethanol. My oh my, what a big nose you have! On the palate it's medium bodied with grainy tannin and a bright acidity that livens up the fruit. There's flavors of toffee, cranberries, plums, and nuts. Then it finishes with a syrupy coating of cranberries, raspberries, and oak.
I gave the 2012 a 5/5 because it was close to tasting like it was appassimento (I even said "classy sweetness, not cheap sweetness") while this is more along the lines of a jammy $11 Merlot with some residual sugar. But I still like it, you'll probably like it, and it's still good for the price. So I'm giving it a 3/5 for Satisfying. You can buy it here: https://bulgarianwine.com/wines/2012-domaine-boyar-reserve-merlot/
QUALITY VS PRICE RATING
Price: $11
Rating: 3/5 = Satisfying (what does that mean?)
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.
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.
I would like to taste the best wines from all around the world, so I often visit the best online stores that offer drink delivery much affordably.
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