3 Blend Rosé 2019, Bratanov Family Winery, South Sakar Mountain, Bulgaria

APPELLATION: Sakar Mountain, South Bulgaria

GRAPES: Blend of 3 of the signature indigenous grapes of Bulgaria – 60% Mavrud, 30% Rubin and 10% Gamza, all picked together on 6^th Sept 2019. Of an interest is that of course the 3 grape varieties ripen at different time, so the idea of the winemaking team was to pick the Mavrud ahead of its full ripeness, the Rubin – after its full ripeness, and the Gamza – at almost optimal ripeness. This way the Mavrud contributes with its acidity, the Rubin with its ripe fruitiness, and the Gamza balances everything between the two.

TERROIR: The onshore winds of the Aegean Sea, penetrating through the Maritsa River Valley, provide for a transitional Mediterranean climate, with long hot summer and mild winter, no groundfrost. The region has one of the highest values of sunshine for Bulgaria. The soil types are mostly sandy-clay and maroon, slightly stony, with good permeability and structure.

VINEYARD: It is the first year that the winery’s team work with this new vineyard of theirs planted in 2016 in the area of Datarla near the village of Shishmanovo in South Sakar mountain, with predominant clay soils, dry farmed with no irrigation. Situated on a hilly slope facing south - southwest, upper altitude of 120 m. The temperature amplitudes reach 15-20 ° C. Bulgarian plants from a local nursery, training system – double Guyot, average of 400 vines per ha.

WINEMAKING: All grapes are hand-picked on the same day in crates in the morning cool temperature with consideration to the phenolic ripeness, brix, acidity and pH, manually selected and carefully sorted before crushing. All the grape varieties are vinified together (the method of sepage) with short maceration on skins in the press, gentle pressing (only first fractions are used), low temperature controlled wild spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts in stainless steel tank. Very gentle clarification and delicate filtration before bottling. The wine is NOT cold-stabilized - natural crystal sediments may appear.

COLOUR: Beautiful pale pink colour with ruby hues.

NOSE: Intense and lightly spicy with notes of forest red fruits.

PALATE: Medium bodied and very fresh, with complex but gentle notes of red fruits and lightly spiced juicy finish.

FOOD MATCH: As an aperitif or with salads, cold meats, seafood dishes, fresh cheeses, fruity desserts.

PRODUCTION: 1100 btls

WINERY: Bratanov family winery is the result of the hard work and dedication of a father and his sons who embarked on a mission to restore the family wine tradition after a break of 50 years. The winery’s own 24ha vineyards are located on the sunny hills of South Sakar near the village of Shishmanovo, Harmanli region – highly regarded as one of the best terroirs in Bulgaria, and contain the local Bulgarian varieties Rubin, Mavrud and Tamyanka and the international Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay. Their winery was established in 2010 where they craft limited batches of wines with minimal intervention, controlling the whole process from the grapes to the bottle. Cherishing their family traditions, Bratanov named a few of their wines after their children – Syrah Elitsa, Chardonnay Beloslava and Rosé Maria. A great asset at their team is the young oenologist Maria Stoeva, who graduated oenology from the Institut de la vigne et du vin “Jules Guyot” in Burgundy, France and came back to Bulgaria to practise her lifelong passion to make terroir driven wines.