Wine52 Case Review: Thracian Valley

The Thracian Valley is one of the earliest haunts of winemaking, with origins stretching back to its Hellenic cultural wine heritage thanks to its fantastic climate for grapes. Located mainly in Bulgaria, the Western and Eastern parts of the valley also straddle into Greece and Turkey. This case focuses on the Bulgarian Wine scene, exploring some grapes you’ve probably never heard of let alone tried and giving you a great idea of why you should look further afield than the tried and tested wine countries.

The Wine Tasting

Na Zemyata White Blend

Starting with the white, we have an interesting blend of Chardonnay (well-known), Muscat (known but less tasted) and Dimiat (which you’ve likely not come across before). Dimiat is Bulgaria’s most planted native white variety and you’ll pretty much only find it here. It adds a perfumed, aromatic intensity to wines and tends to possess a sweet nature (which combines particularly well with Muscat) with its apricot and quince fruit flavours.

On the nose you’ll get a sense of this sweet nature through an underlying honeyed backbone, coupled with red fruits and floral aromas. To taste, this carries through and the fruits become tropical (pineapple, mango) whilst a crisp mineral finish seals the deal.

Konnik Merlot & Mavrud

Another blend here featuring much loved Merlot with Bulgaria’s Mavrud variety. Mavrud is small and dark skinned, resulting in extra tannin weight and inky colours. This is a great combo of soft, plummy Merlot with a beefier, textured local variety.

On the nose you’ll find ripe plum, blackberry and a little smokiness from some oak. To taste, you can really see the blend come alive. Merlot offers up soft, juicy red fruits whilst the Mavrud dials up the heat with black fruit, tannin and chocolate notes. There’s a little herbal complexity going on too which keeps evolving as you let the wine sit in the glass.

Rhyton Cabernet Sauvignon

Now a chance to compare Bulgarian winemaking to a grape you know and love. This is easy going Cab that mimics the New World styles quite well.

You’re immediately hit with ripe black fruits and sweet spice, and a sense that the palate will have good intensity. And on tasting you’d find that to be true too. The fruit is poised to deliver in abundance with blackberry, black cherry and black plum all coming to the fore. The body is robust, the acidity well balanced. All in all, a great example of Bulgarian winemaking.

The Wine52 verdict

This is another great exploration of a lesser-known region. Where Wine52 really impress me is their willingness to stretch beyond consumer favourites and present their fellow wine drinkers with wines and varieties not on the supermarket shelves, which often means you get a better wine at good value too. So, if you are fed up of the lacklustre, the same old same old, then you’d better get yourself a free case from Wine52!