Bulgaria – Sintica Conomladi Melnik 2013

Domaine and vineyard

Wine Cellar SINTICA is the new face of the Complex Experimental Station established in mid-20th century in the town of Sandanski. The Experimental Agricultural Centre of the Bulgarian South West gave the country’s agriculture a great deal of new branches, variations and sorts of different cultures, but it stopped functioning as such in the first years of the Democracy (after the Events of 1989). In 2006 - 2007 3 enthusiasts charged with the ambition to develop the wine industry in this favourable region recreated the Experimental Station, building the SINTICA Winery on its premises. It’s a brand new, modern Winery Complex with the capacity of producing about 500 000 litres of wine. Sintica winery has 325 acres. own vineyards (175 acres of which are created now) of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Early Melnik grape using the French elite planting material. Vineyards are located in the territory of the ancient city of Heraclea Sintica. This is Sintica’s reference to history-it existed in the third century BC, and very close to the picturesque and magnificent area of Rupite. 2008 is the first year of the new history of the Winery Sintica. From the previous winery the only thing preserved is the unique underground cellar for storage and aging of wines, with a constant natural temperature of 14 º C and natural ventilation of air.

The unique terroir of the Southern part of the Valley of the Struma River is surrounded by the high mountains of Pirin, Belasitsa, Ograjden. The climate is transitional Mediterranean. The average annual temperature in Sandanski is 14.1 º C and average relative humidity is the lowest in the country - 66%. The average number of days with precipitation above 1 mm is only 69-70. The duration of sunshine in Sandanski is the largest in the country - 2506 hours. In connection with considerable sunshine in the winter months, the snow cover in the region remains just a few days, the winter is very mild. The region is characterized by a relatively small number of days with fog - only 5 days per year only during winter months. The temperature and sum of the vegetative period is 4385 degrees Celsius, the relative humidity in July-August is 61%. The altitude of 200 meters graces these climatic conditions and this fact together with the highly eroded clay-sandy soils favour the cultivation of vines to provide the grapes with very good performance.

The wine

Sintica Conomladi 2013 comes from grapes harvested on September the 22^nd 2013 from different vineyards in the selected region of Melnik, with controlled yield, maturity and quality of fruit.

The selection of the grapes is done twice, at the vineyard and in the cellar, using a double sorting table. On the first table, the selection of the whole grapes was made and they were mechanically separated from the hard particles. On the second table, all the damaged and green berries as well as the remaining of the particles from the clusters were removed.

The maceration lasts 18 days and the fermentation is conducted in stainless steel tanks at 28 - 30 °С. The wine then matures 2 months in French barriques before bottling.

Melnik comes from an hybrid; at the origin of this laboratory created grape there is the autochthone SHIROKA MELNISHKA LOZA which, due to its own nature and characteristics, used to give wines too much dry and acids, as he could never reach the optimal point of maturation before the arrival of the autumn cold temperature. Therefore it has been mixed with the main international and French grapes, producing many different hybrids among which the Melnik 55 (or Melnik or RANNA MELNISHKA LOZA) has been selected.

Tasting Note

Date	21 February 2016
Wine name	CONOMLADI	Vintage	2013
Nation	Bulgaria	Region	Struma Valley
AOC-DOC	//	Grape Varieties	Melnik
Serving temperature	17-18° C	Alcohol	14,1
Price (in euro)	15	SO2 (in mg/l)	Nd

 

Visual Examination		Taste analysis
Limpidity	Limpid	Body	Full
Color	Ruby Red	Balance	Balanced
Consistency	Quiet Consistent	Soft sensations	Warm
Effervescence	//	Hard sensations	Quite Tannic
		Flavors intensity	Quite intense
Olfactory analysis		Flavors	Red fruits, Nuts
Aroma intensity	Quiet Intense
Complexity	Quiet complex	Finish/Persistence	Quiet persistent
Quality	Fine	Overall evaluations
Aromas	Red fruits, Mulberries,	Development	Ready
	Spices	Harmony	Harmonious

Food and wine pairing

Platters of red meat, dried spiced delicacies, wild-animal meats, spicy cheeses, and also by itself.  

CONOMLADI is a nice wine. Young vines and a brief passage in oak barrels create a pleasant balance between the strength and softness. The wine has a good structure that is enriched by aromas of red fruits, nuts, spices and little balsamic hints. All these aromas become nice flavours during the tasting. I really liked the wine. I would be curious to taste a non-oak aged version of this wine, in order to really understand all the characteristics of this grape variety.

Official website: www.sinticawinery.com