7/30/2023 - Lyubomir Lefterov wrote:

Some baby fat present at this early stage, dark fruits and perfect balance, nicely tuned overall structure. As usual top-class wine making, but as it happens lately, this wine is getting more French than Italian.

1/26/2022 - Nanda wrote:

This beams with red cherry, plum, fresh cut flowers, toasted herbs, new leather and spice nose. Palate has ripeness and roundness with still gritty tannins. Excellent tension and balance. Steel fermented and far more classic then you might expect. Still young with upside as it settles in post 10 years of age.

9/22/2022 - Lyubomir Lefterov Likes this wine:

Really nice, cranberries and creme fraiche, good focus, complexity and balance. Mostly in the fruity stage, maybe decade or two ahead, but perfectly OK for drinking now.

3/7/2022 - Zinslut Likes this wine:

When you come out of the mist of a day , are lucky to have a nice decanter, aerator , some nice Czech Bordeaux glass, and a bottle of wine like Like this your mood and life may change. After 1.5 hours settling , this is the closest thing to Perfection in a medium bodied glass of Sangiovese dominate Chianti Classico I’ve had in 5 years. From start to finish everything you could dream from a feminine style single vineyard Italian wine made by Mother Nature with no adulteration or human hands or minds involved. Aged perfectly at the 6.5 year spot, I was lucky to find this 2015 last bottle when the shelf rang of 2018. A warming ripe cherries, chervil, dark red plums, leather, licorice , & tobacco leaf that expressed clarity, varietal character, and an elegant personality of a Gene Tierney. Consumed over 2 hours, it improved even more. It was just what I needed , but alas , I’m sure none is left on a retail basis. As the long Raven hair Dec ends from the glass , I hasten to reward it higher as a delicate
Perfect expression of clonal selection , vineyard , microclimate , and step away winemaking can create. With more richness, body, and complexity and tension… this wine would be crashing the mid 90’s. I hope you find one.

6/5/2022 - johnrm Likes this wine:

Pale yellow. Given a little time to open and warm above 10 degrees, the nose began to show some fruit and fragrance. The palate was not quite dry - there was a little gentle sweetness with the mainly apple fruit (but with tropical hints). There were subtle herb flavours and delicate citrus notes (and ‘lemon sherbet’) developed with time. Very long on the palate and really rather nice. Clearly a New World Chardonnay but with an elegance and under-stated character that separates it from many over-oaked, over-sweet Californian blockbusters of the not too distant past. Rather expensive in UK but a fair buy on offer at Waitrose.
Note added later. The label does say ‘Reserve’ but there is a separate entry on CT for the Reserve Chardonnay. I know the term is thrown onto wine labels as a (necessary?) marketing tool these days but I would like to know if the Chardonnay and the Reserve Chardonnay are actually the same wine?

6/9/2020 - Nojomoschwa Likes this wine:

Beautiful Chianti Riserva that's just getting into a good place. Still fairly primary, though some development was noticeable. Tannins are impeccable, as they are there but don't intrude too much. Just lovely. Earth, savory, moreish.

5/15/2021 - Lyubomir Lefterov wrote:

Had a glass poured with Coravin, nice purity of fruit with that vibrant acidity, gentle tannins and very drinkable, a bit weighty for the vintage, as I have tasted a lot of thin NdM 2014, possibly because of Merlot 5% - Cabernet 5%. French oak - 5hl for 18 months. Really nice.

4/17/2021 - Lyubomir Lefterov wrote:

Minerally driven at first, with air becoming rounded and weighty, juicy as well, nice and very true to its origins

5/20/2021 - Lyubomir Lefterov wrote:

Wow, this is so pure and vivid now, bright and poised with that lovely acidity and red fruits in harmony, oak, if there has been any presence, is fully integrated adding just a bit spice. Medium weight, it doesn't have the intensity in the mid palate and finish to propel it to the upper league, but splendid for drinking now and will keep 3-5y easy.
One of my best experience with this label.

7/1/2020 - Lyubomir Lefterov wrote:

Purchased on release (possibly after WS praised it). Decanted and ready with friendly tannins, that dissolved in 30 min completely. I kept it for another 2hrs in decanter during dinner. The acidity was perfect to cut through fatty rib-eye and some pork bellies on the BBQ.
However, while it was pleasurable, it failed to impress as it was expected. Matured nose, with predominantly tobacco, there was a nice cherry liquor flavors for the first hour, then tertiary aromas allover. Well structured with intense mineral midpalate, that is apparent with more air. A bit of finesse will help, but there is none.
Looking at my notes for other vintages of this wine, it looks like it is just not my BdM.

6/4/2020 - Lyubomir Lefterov wrote:

Petrol on opening, slightly fading away later on. Colour on the green side, lots of lemons, limes, in a potent, energetic body and quite relaxed, easy to drink in the same time. Went fantastic with garlic prawns.

11/23/2018 - Lyubomir Lefterov wrote:

I'm just wondering if it was a bad bottle, color was dark yellow, heading to orange, stone minerality all over with tuned freshness, better when warmed 11-12 C.
Enjoyable but very different from what I was expecting. It was getting better with time and I decanted the botlle when was half gone, it helped and everyone was pleased with the distinctive character the wine had. Gravitating around 91-2 pts , but I was not definetelly ready for it and I shoudnt put in line with so many different wines. I will open my next bottles on their own with no other competitors around.

5/11/2018 - Lyubomir Lefterov Likes this wine:

Wow this is really nice, so delicate and charmful, with fine mousse and elegance that is seen in the best vintages only. There is a lot ongoing with subtle notes of flowers, acacia, almonds, light citrus, white peach and all that is in perfect balance with nothing dominating but attributing to that overall feeling of completeness.
Blend of Ch40 % PN37 % PM 23 % Dosage: 5 g/l, excellent value with this vintage brut.

3/24/2018 - Lyubomir Lefterov wrote:

I felt it a bit rough, in your face, a lot of Granny Smith, full bodied, might just need some time in the bottle to soften a bit.

5/8/2018 - Lyubomir Lefterov wrote:

With 24 g/l res sugar, this is definitelly on the offdry scale.Grapes picked at full ripeness, alc 13.5%.
Color is goden brown, nose is a bit muted with some developed aromas in the mouth steely with some quince and exotic fruits. Enjoyed with stilton and leeks tart, decent food wine, but with grand cru label expectations are high.

1/21/2018 - Herschel Krustofski wrote:

From Coravin: Tannin monster needs 3+ hours breathing in the glass before it is accessible, and even then, only with beef stew. Could be more balanced. Certainly needs a few more years of bottle ageing to clam down.
Maybe this bottle is not showing well although there's no obvious flaw.
I'm not terribly impressed and not sure it's worth wasting cellar space for this particular bottle. Perhaps it will go into the next stew instead of keeping it.
Giving it the benefit of the doubt. No score until I try another bottle.

6/2/2017 - Yagil wrote:

Felsina winery tasting (Felsina Winery, Berardegna): 100% Sangiovese
20 months of ageing in french oak
dark translucent red-black
quality dark fruits nose with earthy notes and subtle spicy hints
ripe elegant dark fruits, integrated firm tannins, excellent balance & harmony, fine quality structure, delicate complexity, high quality finish & aftertaste, still young and should be further aged

5/2/2016 - Lyubomir Lefterov wrote:

I don't have much Barbera experience and was exactly sure what to expect (apart from some people promote it as an ultimate pizza wine). However not impressed at all. This wine is too much new world, expressive fruit, very fragrant and rich, delicious but one must be prepared for this. I was headed for some savory Italian wine and it is not this style.
And not to forget 15% of Alc !?
Well made, but not much to my liking.

5/13/2015 - NiklasW wrote:

ChTR kokous 13.05.2015 (Uusi-S): Decanted for an hour. A very enjoyable wine, tasty with great dark fruit and lots of tannins. Seemed to be at its peak now.

1/15/2013 - pjaines Likes this wine:

You spend years complaining about the hit-and-miss nature of Burgundy, about the price, about the unpredictable nature, the fickle mistress, the lack of alternatives. You look in Oregan, New Zealand, Australia......and then a wine from Bulgaria turns up for a fraction of the price and hits a home run. The entry level wine is excellent (the Soli) but this is a step up - meaty, deep, 1er cru quality cut through with minerals, tangy fruit balanced off against fine tannins. Long finish - deep cherries, meat, spices, mushrooms. And it is so freaking cheap. Excellent value. Has a sense of place about it. Impressive. Bulgaria....whodda thunk it?