Beauty from the Danube Plain: Tsarev Brod Gergana Brut
This past summer, I took a trip I’ve been wanting to make for a few years now: Sofia. Bulgaria may not be on the top of everyone’s travel wish list (although it should be, it’s beautiful!) but it’s been on mine for a while now. Why? Wine, naturally! I’ve heard great things about Bulgarian wine and two years ago, Shoyu Sugar brought back an amazing Riesling pét-nat that cemented my desire to explore the country’s wine scene.
I felt absolutely charmed by Sofia. It is an adorable little city, very easily navigable, with much to see. It’s quite sophisticated and has a robust wine bar scene. Although I could have done with some more air conditioning. Perhaps I’m spoiled in Istanbul (most businesses wouldn’t dream of not having AC), but not even wine shops were temperature controlled. Eeek.
While getting to know the city, not only did I get a chance to do a little exploration of the Bulgarian wine scene, I even got to try more wines from the producer that made the Riesling pét-nat that so captured my imagination: Tsarev Brod Winery.
Tsarev Brod Winery
Founder Ivan Ivanov named his winery for the village in which is sits: Tsarev Brod. Located in the Shumen region in the Middle Danube Plain, Tsarev Brod (the village) nestles between two of Bulgaria’s old capitals: Pliska and Veliki Preslav. Ivanov began planting his vineyards here in 2001 and completed the winery in 2014. His 27 hectares, planted to Gergana, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Traminer, Pinot Gris, Evmolpia, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Franc, surround the winery.
The winery’s vineyards sit at 250 meters and grow in highly fertile black soils, requiring a great deal of pruning work in the vineyard to ensure that grapes are not overly productive. The Danube Plain has a temperate continental climate which, combined with the fertile soils, makes for very vigorous vines.
Tsarev Brod Gergana Brut, 2021
Gergana, a cross between Dimyat and Muscat Ottonel, is relatively rare. Tsarev Brod uses it for both a still white, and this traditional method sparkling wine. Ivanov and his family pick the Gergana grapes at the beginning of September when the grapes’ acidity level is high and the sugars still relatively low. The wine’s first fermentation takes place in small stainless steel vats where it ages for 12 months before being bottled for the second fermentation. It spends an additional 24 months on the lees before being disgorged.
The wine glowed pale gold in the glass and dense, tiny bubbles danced excitedly. Heady aromas of linden and elderflower, yellow fruits, and rich marzipan, wrapped in a thread of wet stone cascaded out of the glass. Dry and crisp with mouthwatering acidity, like biting into a fresh, crunchy apple. A delightful tension harmonizes with frothy mousse and the fine bubbles burst with flavors of crisp apple and citrus, complemented by enticing hints of biscuit in the long finish.
Worth a return trip to Bulgaria!
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