Wines of Thrace. Carole Hazlehurst. March 2025

 

Carole Hazlehurst, Wines from Thrace PGI  (Bulgaria)

It was a pleasure to see Carole again so soon, in fact she asked to come. She was approached by Wines of Thrace to show their wines to a UK audience and gather feedback. We’re honoured she chose to come to us. 6 of the 8 wines are from Wines of Thrace, and 2 from The Wine Society – but also from the same region.

Unfortunately Carole had quite a bad cold so wasn’t at the top of her game, and I’d had food poisoning earlier in the week which killed my taste buds.

Whites

• 1.       Minkov Brothers - Cycle Traminer 2022 13%

This is the quite rare Savagnin blanc grape variety also known for the Vin Jaune de Jura. A very particular, sherry like flavour. Definitely not mainstream. Approach with care.

• 2.       Domaine Boyar Sauvignon Blanc, 2022, 12%

A very straightforward S-B. Fine.

• 3.       Burgozone- Cote du Danube Viognier 2022 13.5%

A classic Viognier. Will keep. Well liked.

• 4.       Aya Estate - Colorito, Blend, 2021 12.5%

A blend of Chardonnay with 3 Rhone white grapes. Why? Not a hit.

Reds

• 5.       Edoardo Miroglio Soli Pinot Noir 2021 13%

The Wine Society. Average/OK

• 6.       Villa Melnik, Melnik 2021 14.5%

The Wine Society. This is a goody. Powerful, local grape variety. Some residual sugar. Well liked.

• 7.       Bononia Istar Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc 2022 13.5%

A decent enough blend.

• 8.       Katarzyna Estate - Cheval de Katarzyna, Mavrud 2021 14.5%

This is also a goody. Powerful, local grape variety. Some residual sugar. Well liked.

 

All the wines are available in the UK, if you look hard. North/South Wines, Field & Fawcett, Danube Wines.The Wine Society

 One thing that was a touch disappointing is that the wines didn’t feature the local varieties much, which we’d have preferred as a club, but do understand the desire to get the better known varieties in front of a British audience.