Dimitar Nikolov’s Little Known Bulgarian White Wines

Three of the five summer white Bulgarian wine gems

Dimitar (“Mitko”) Nikolov joins me yet again for a summer wine tasting of the very best white wines he knows. And he not only knows his wine, but he’s internationally respected for his wine tasting expertise. Mitko is a wine judge for Decanter Magazine — and has been for the last five years.

His wife, Dony, manages their online wine website, apollowine.com. Listen to us tasting these white wine gems below:

FULL DISCLOSURE: Apollowine.com sponsor BanskoBlog.com. Bear this in mind. But I never recommend anything I do not really enjoy. These wines are Mitko’s unbiased favourites but Mitko did receive these wines complimentary from the producers.

Bratanov, Novi Pazar and Rossidi ready for tasting

Kick back, pour yourself a cool glass of white wine and listen to our podcast here, or in the Bansko App, as Mitko tastes these little known Bulgarian white wines. Here’a my teaser tasting video from Facebook/BanskoBlog:

Be sure to subscribe to Bulgaria Now in iTunes / Stitcher, SoundClound, Overcast etc to receive the latest podcast every week.

Little known Bulgarian rose wine gems from Mitko are coming here soon…

Burgozone Chardonnay 2013

Price vs Quality

It all about the money with wine — and Mitko selects only the wines for us to taste that he believes offer exceptional value for money.

None of the wines costs over 18.40 lev (£6.75 / €9.45 / $10.58).

Mitko brought six wines for us to taste. However, the sixth wine we both agreed did not quite hit the mark of the rest; so we left it out of the tasting. The bar was set that high and we agreed to not lower it for the sake of making up six wines.

All five wines are a different blend of grapes and are perfect for expanding the type of wines you may normally drink. Be adventurous and safe in the knowledge that they all represent great value for money.

Ice necessity; when it's hot and you need cool wine.

The wines

1.  Bratanov; Tamianka 2014  —  18.40 leva

Tamianka is an indigenous grape variety to Bulgaria and this wine I loved. Bratanov’s Mavrud was one we tasted back in episode 25 and shows their commitment to showing how these Bulgarian indigenous grape varieties should taste. Elegant and aromatic with a little spice. Yellow plum fruit finishes off this wonderful wine.

Mitko's Top 5 Little Known Bulgarian White Wines. In order left (No. 1) to right (No. 5)

2.  Novi Pazar; Pinot Grigio, 2013  —  12.00 leva

This Pinot Grigio from Novi Pazar. New vines. It has some real melon fruit body and a pleasing mineral backbone with some nice floral overtones with acidity. Medium to full bodied wine to be by itself or with food. A bargain.

3.  Rossidi; “Unison” Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer, 2014  —   12.88 leva

From the Nikolaevo vineyard the label promises an interesting marriage “unison” between the two grape varieties chardonnay and Gewürztraminer. It works. This is addictive stuff and a masterful entry to Eduardo’s consistently top wines from the Rossidi brand (rossidi.com) of boutique wines.

4.  Pixels, Sauvignon Blanc, 2014  —  10.49 leva

Not to be confused with 2013 version, which is not as good. This 2014 Sauvignon Blanc from Pixels hits a fabulous balance between New and Old World sauvignon blanc. Mineral qualities with a bite of citrus, subtle grassiness and hints of all sorts of sauvignon goodness. A screw cap make this perfect for a picnic. A “fantastic job”. A “no brainer” bargain.

5.  Burgoyzone, Chardonnay, 2013  —  14.99 leva

A real surprise for me. Multi award winning Chardonnay from the Danube plain overlooking the river Danube near Oryahovo. It is not overly oaked and has smooth peachy fruit with acidity to cut through any dish. In fact the mineral qualities were good enough to make this an aperitif choice as well a great partner with robust chicken and pork dishes. Subtle oak. Aged in both old and new oak. A BBQ white that I’ll be back for more. Gold medal from Concours Mondiale (in Brussels).

Where to buy

These wines are not as widely distributed as some of the larger brands you see in every supermarket and small retailer. However all these wines and a huge selection of other wines from Bulgaria and around the world are offered at low prices by apollowine.com

Apollowine.com offer free delivery for 6 bottles or more to anywhere in Bulgaria (including Bansko) and delivery is available for anywhere in the EU.

Festival time

Be sure to check out Bansko event calendar, click here. Be sure to get up the mountain, take a picnic and a bottle of wine.

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