Rose de Bulgarie

“Scrie pe Vin2.ro”  povești trăite de oameni care iubesc vinul. Astăzi îl avem invitat pe Bogdan Caracaleanu

—-La sfarsitul lunii mai, impreuna cu alti 8 compatrioti, am trecut prin Sofia, unde se desfasura Balkans International Wine Competition 2015, concurs ajuns la a patra editie. Pe langa concursul propriu zis (amintesc numele unui jurat -Julia Harding- va dati seama ca nu este chiar un concurs oarecare), au mai fost si 4 masterclass-uri (tinute numai de masters of wine) si un targ de vinuri.
—-Targul de vinuri a fost organizat pe o terasa a ultracentralului Grand Hotel, intr-un spatiu cam mic pentru numarul expozantilor si mai ales al participantilor.
—-Cum pentru targ ma deplasasem acolo, m-am dedat la vinurile expuse, majoritatea bulgaresti, dar si din Turcia sau Grecia. Romania nu a avut stand, dar s-a numarat printre medaliatii concursului, in aceeasi situatie aflandu-se si Serbia, Macedonia, Muntenegru etc.
—-Unul din vinurile care mi-a atras atentia a fost roze-ul de la Alexandra Estate, un cupaj din 2013 realizat din Mourvedre (60%) si Grenache (40%).  Am fost placut impresionat de aspectul sticlei, al etichetei, de culoarea „silver pink salmon” (sau piersica dupa paletarul Provence), de gust si nu in ultimul rand de cea care l-a servit, una din rarele conationale ale lui Hristo Botev dupa care merita sa intorci capul. Bine, mai era una la alt stand (febletea unui coleg din grup), dar pe care nu o prea ajutau vinurile.
—-Cum targul (cu mici exceptii) nu era cu vanzare, am fost tare fericit sa gasesc acest vin pe drumul de intoarcere in tara, la Metro din Pleven.  
—-Zilele astea calduroase m-au determinat sa deschid sticla si vinul m-a intampinat cu un nas fin, fresh si placut, de fructe rosii de sezon. Gustul usor mineral (solurile argilos-calcaroase isi fac simtita prezenta), aciditatea perfecta, excelenta mascare a celor 13,3 % alcool si postgustul destul de lung, fac din acest vin un partener perfect al serilor calde de vara.
—-Cum imi place sa si asociez un preparat culinar la vin, am ales niste creveti trasi la tigaie cu sos de smantana pentru prima jumatate, sticla golind-o alaturi de niste cartofi noi prajiti in baie de untura de porc ardelenesc. Cu creveti merge ca uns, dar asta nu este o surpriza asa ca m-am concentrat pe al doilea food and wine pairing. Punctaj bun: 6 castraveti din 7!
—-Daca stai bine cu colesterolul si mai ales la distanta de caldura din bucataria unde s-a preparat produsul, o sa gasesti ca restul de zahar sesizabil din cartofi, sarea presarata in ploaie peste acestia si usorul gust de jumari vor duce la o terminare rapida a roseului si la gandul ca poate si la Metro Ruse au acest vin de numai 15 leva. Si cum Ruse nu este departe de Bucuresti…
—-Na zdrave, deci!
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—-Rose of Bulgarie
—-At the end of May, me and other eight Romanian fellows stopped by Sofia, the place where The Balkans Int’l Wine Competition 2015 took place, at its fourth edition. Besides the competition – I must mention a name of a juror Julia Harding (it is not an ordinary contest), there were other 4 masterclasss (held only by masters of wine) and a wine fair.
—-The wine fair was organized downtown on the terrace of the well-known Grand Hotel – within a small space for both exhibitors and participants as well.
As for the fair I went there, I tasted the present wines, most of them from Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece. Romania did not have a stand, but it was among the winners of the competition just alike the ones from: Serbia, Macedonia, Muntenegru.
—-The wine that caught my attention was a rose from Alexandra Estate, a blend of Mourvedre (60%) and Grenache (40%). I was impressed by the bottle and label design, by its „silver pink salmon colour” (or peach after the Provence palette), by its taste and last but not least by the one who served it, one of the Hristo Botev’s rare fellow. Of course, there was another one at a stand (very loved by a friend of the group) but wines did not help her too much.
—-As the fair was not with sale (without some few exceptions), I was very happy to find this wine on my way back home at Metro in Pleven.
—-These hot days determined me to open the bottle. The wine welcomed me with fine, fresh and pleasant, red fruit nose. The gentle mineral taste ( clay-calcareous soils make the difference) , the perfect acidity, the excellent cover of the 13.3% alcohol and the long aftertaste prove that this wine is the perfect partner of the warm summer evenings.
—-As I like to do wine pairing, I chose some shrimps cooked in a little bit of oil with some cream sauce for the first half, the rest I drank besides some french fries made in a bath with Transylvanian lard. It tastes wonderful with shrimps but it is not a surprise, thai is why I focused on the second dish and wine pairing. Good score: 6 points of 7!
—-If you are good with the cholesterol and you may find far away from the heat in the kitchen where the product was ccooked you will find out that the sugar level within potatoes, the salt sprinkled in rain over them and the fine taste of greaves will lead to a fast drink of the rose and maybe, the thought that this wine may be found in Metro Ruse at 15 leva. And as Ruse is not far from Bucharest…
—-So, na zdrave!
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