Norma Ratcliffe, South African wine estate owner and international wine judge (see CV), visited Bulgaria from July 18 – 23  2010 as the guest of the South African Ambassador to Bulgaria, Sheila Camerer and her husband Alex. The three of them set off on a tour of Bulgaria’s top wineries identified by Yavor Yordanov of Famous Wines. Here are some of her impressions:

What a whirlwind tour. Arrived Sunday evening and had a quiet supper in the SA Embassy. But not an early night. One never has an early night in Bulgaria. Perhaps in winter. Five days of sightseeing, Orthodox churches, monasteries, Thracian tombs and stunning wine.

The Camerers were kind enough to do a Bulgarian "braai" at the embassy with their wonderful new friends: The Todoroffs, Leviev-Sawyers (he is South African, editor of the Sofia Echo), Thomas Fuller, Dr Yordanov (wine expert who imports Kleine Zalze wines), the Simeonovs (Chamber of Commerce) and others. That lamb and local sausage! I felt right at home. My first taste of Mavrud was enchanting. It is the "Pinotage" of Bulgaria and their indigenous grape. I tasted an astonishing Merlot 2005.

Having met Ivan Todoroff the previous evening, we drove about 140km SE of Sofia to the Todoroff Winery, Brestovitsa (1.5 hours) and modern boutique hotel, state of the art winery and spa. Loved the wooden bathtub made of staves from barrels for "Sanus per Vini" ancient spa treatments with wine products for health and youth. Ah, the wines were wonderful. My favourite was my newly discovered delight, Boutique Mavrud 2009, young, no wood and tastes like liquorice, delightful. They also do a lean dry Muscat which would be great with cheese. We tasted a great Bordeaux blend, Cab/Merlot, with French Oak; rich with good aging potential.

The wines were always so good and varied; the people so hospitable that we were late for almost every appointment. Lunch at Starosel Winery. It was built around a reconstructed Thracian Tomb (A mound). We went below to see that it was just like a tomb. The centre point on the floor was built acoustically to give the strangest sound sensation when you spoke. No time for a serious tasting. We had a light Shopska salad and a delicious glass of rose.

We head for Stara Zagora and a new and exciting winery called Miroglio, village of Elenovo, which has a hotel, Soli Invicto. This is more of a 12-room guesthouse.

Arriving at our destination we see a huge state-of-the-art modern winery up on top of the hill. Beautifully kept vines cover the surrounding hills as well as the natural lake.

The area dates back to Thracian times but Edoardo Miroglio Wine Cellar dates back to 2001. The Italian, Edoardo, found perfect soil and and wine conditions for red and white. He has invested 22 million euro in this project and released their first wine in 2005. What a success it has been.

He has employed 130 people from Elenovo village and at harvest it is 200. A famous Italian oenologist heads the wine section, Marco Monchiero.

There are three ranges of wine: The EM is by far the most serious and has world class wines. Sant’Ilia, Sant’lia Estate are their more commercial lines but great value. They have received many international wine distinctions at Mundisvini, Decanter, and the International Wine Challenge.

The wine tycoon Miroglio knew what he was doing. They do great Muscat Ottonel, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, but their reds in the EM show great promise with the classic French variations, Cab, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. The Bulgarian spice is added or bottled as their little known local varieties of Mavrud, Rubin, and Melnik55.

My favourites were the EM brut rose, the Cab Franc, and the Merlot which the Bulgarians are particularly good at. The Merlot/Mavrud has a particular spiciness but is a simple red wine. The Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir) Reserve has cherry and strawberry aromas. Don’t forget the rakiya, a wonderful strong digestive.

Terra Tangra is an unscheduled stop but well worth the detour – it looks slightly rundown but the exterior denies the delight inside. Emil Zarchev, the owner shows us around but the highlight is the tasting with the two winemakers Dimitri and Dino. Tanga means goat in Bulgarian, thus the name goat soil. I requested a tasting of local varieties, and they produced Mavrud 2007, liquorice and tealeaf, Ribin Yatrus – delicious local variety similar to San Geovese. They include an organic wine blend similar to Bordeaux style with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc and Mavrud. Yum Yum!

We go on to a quick stop at friends of the driver: Kamen and Fliona at Malkata are producing the most glamorous chardonnay. Enigma has 30 per cent Bulgarian Oak and is a real cracker. Tastes like a cross between Chablis and SA chardonnay. The grapes bought in with astounding results. Well done Kamen and Fliona.

Down to the road to Kolarovo, 3km away to a huge stone clad, state of the art, modern winery, Castra Rubra and it is owned by Telish Wines. Named after a Byzantine fortress that had been found during excavations in 2007, the label reflects this.

The name means red fortress and is located on the ancient road "Via Diagonalis" which connected Rome with Constantinople. Chalet and Telish are two varietal wines from Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, respectively. Wonderful hospitality, with little snacks served during tasting. Fabulous modern tasting room. We were assisted by Anton Dimitrov and Todor Katsarov, modern young winemakers who are assisted by the famous French oenologist Michel Rolland.

Although their focus is on French varieties, they too use some of the ancient Bulgarian varieties, Rubin, not so old (crossed in 1944 between Nebbiolo and Syrah), Melnik, Mavrud, which was my favourite for its deep colour and balanced acids/ tannins. Gamza, not tasted. Misket Cherven, Pamid and Dimiyat, makes white table wine. The 2008 Merlot/Rubin is heavy, balanced and rich. The Castro Rubra 2007 – lovely black cherries, Cabernet Sauvignon based with Rubin. The Via Diagonalis, is a Merlot based with Cabernet Sauvignon, Mavrud and Rubin.

Last stop for a very late lunch and tasting at Katarzyna. Modern, commercial and hosted by Svetlana Slavova. Owned by Cristoffe Salensky, a Polish owner who lives in France. Great wines, great tour, BIG lunch and lovely people. When we finished what was a substantial starter course, we thought we were finished. However, on came an enormous pan fried trout each, a steak course, and dessert. Amazing Katarzyna "Question Mark" 2007 Cabernet/Merlot blend. Even Robert Parker thought it was exceptional. Rich full body, soft tannins, and a long finish. We were greeted by the twin oenologists. Tasted their Twin cabernet Sauvignon 2007, which was blended from two different lots of Cab. From different areas of the property. Wonderful Chardonnay called Contemplations. The wines are all reasonably priced but they do have some serious wines as well. You can take the Syrah very seriously indeed.

Bulgarian wines need to be taken seriously. The world needs to know about them. These people that I visited are world class players and will become huge competitors in the world market. Gone forever is the impression that one had years ago, of the wines being cheap and heavy. Hooray, they are ridding themselves of this perception fast.
 
* About NORMA RATCLIFFE

Norma Ratcliffe was born and educated in Edmonton, Alberta and graduated from the University of Alberta in Edmonton with a B.Sc. degree in chemistry.
While on a working holiday in Greece, Norma met Stan Ratcliffe, a South African farmer. They were married shortly thereafter and moved to South Africa.
Husband Stan trained in viticulture at Elsenburg College in Stellenbosch and then purchased Warwick Wine Estate in 1964. He and Norma started in the 1970s with experimental wines. 1984 marked Norma’s first Warwick Estate Wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon. Since then Warwick Wines have won many awards.
A member of the Cape Independent Winemakers Guild and chairman since 1993, Norma produces special casks of wine for their auction, which takes place in October every year.
Norma is an officially qualified wine judge and judges at many wine shows in South Africa and internationally. She has been a panel member for Diners Club Winemaker of the Year. Norma is also an official Pinotage judge.