2019 Lodogaj Winery Nobile Chardonnay Barrel Reserve

Logodaj Winery is a well-known wine producer in Bulgaria, founded in 1994 by three friends in the Struma Valley, part of the Thracian lowlands, close to the Macedonian and Greek borders. The winery is located in one of the warmest and sunniest parts of Bulgaria, where winemaking has an ancient history.

Today, Logodaj is a modern winery, supported by an ambitious team. In its pursuit of quality, Logodaj Winery has taken the advice of an experienced winemaker from a more established region. The winery is proud to work under the advice and supervision of world-renowned enologist Riccardo Cotarrela, strictly following his style and innovative technologies. Since 2011, Cotarrela and his team have been overseeing viticulture and winemaking on the estate.

The vineyards are located in a region full of history and wine traditions - in the middle of the Petrich-Sandanski Valley, between the emblematic town of Melnik and the recently discovered ancient city of Heraclea Sintica.
Near the vineyards you will find the medieval rock monastery “St. Panteleimon”, believed to be associated with the earliest period of the hermitage of St. Ivan Rilski. West of the vineyards, across the Struma River, is Kozhuh Hill — a remnant of an extinct volcano. Close to the vineyards is also the famous place Rupite, where the church “St. Petka” was built by the prophet Vanga.

Both the owners and the team of Riccardo Cotarrela were united in developing the potential of the unique Bulgarian grape varieties Broad-Leaved Melnik Vine and Early Melnik Grape, also known as Melnik 55. The former is believed to have been planted in this area since the Roman era, while the latter was created in the 1960s by crossing the broad-leaved Melnik vine with the French Valdiguié grape variety, originally planted in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. These varieties of the Melnik grape are grown only in this part of the world, along the Struma Valley. Other native grape varieties planted, also typical of this region, are Tamyanka and Kerazuda. In addition to the native varieties, other recognizable international varieties are also grown, such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, etc.

Logodaj Winery has state of the art equipment and expertise to follow all contemporary trends and good practices in winemaking. The grapes are harvested by hand and vinified in their individual plots to preserve the character of the terroir. The wine is fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks before spending time in oak barriques in the winery's underground cellars.