Vineyards Selection Tenevo is the highest-rated red wine in the world

For the first time, a wine from Bulgaria received such a prestigious award at Concours Mondial de Bruxelles

Bulgarian winemaking has made a huge breakthrough on the international stage. For the first time, the best red wine in the world comes from our country. This is Vineyards Selection Tenevo, produced by Villa Yambol. It became the highest-rated red wine among 4,836 samples submitted in this year’s thirtieth edition of the prestigious Concours Mondial de Bruxelles wine competition. The Bulgarian drink won the International Revelation Red Wine title for the first time in the history of the wine competition.

A total of 73 Bulgarian wines took part in this year’s competition, of which 27 received medals. This translates to almost 37% prize-winning wines, beating the competition average of 25-28%. Among the medals won, the most prestigious award was the Large Gold Medal. It is awarded to only 1% of the wines at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. In addition to 13 gold and 11 silver medals, Bulgaria was awarded three large gold medals, including Vineyards Selection Tenevo. The award-winning wine is produced from selected vineyards of Villa Yambol in the Tenevo micro-region. It is made from three varieties – Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, vintage 2017.

In terms of the number of medals, the leader is Villa Yambol again. A total of six medals for white and red wines were won from the Red and White Wine Session and another two for rosé, which were won during the Rosé Wine Session of the Mondial de Bruxelles competition held earlier this year. The producer won a gold medal for Kabile rosé and Vineyards Selection. Kabile Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Kabile Reserve Merlot, Kabile Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, and Kabile Reserve Syrah were also awarded gold. Silver won was awarded to Vineyards Selection Troyanovo produced from the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay varieties.

Vineyards Selection is the collector’s series of wines of Villa Yambol, created with the idea of unfolding the most captivating characteristics of the terroir of the Eastern Thracian Valley. Red wines are created from the varieties of three micro-regions - Tenevo, Topolitsa and Bolyarovo. The vineyards in Tenevo are from 2005. “This is not just the result of hard work and a lot of effort, this wine is like a dream come true. Already with the planting of the vines in these micro-regions, we set ourselves the goal of creating unique wines that demonstrate the power of the terroir and the potential it can reveal in classic French varieties in our country”, commented the team of Villa Yambol. The vineyards for the production of Vineyards Selection are planted according to the “Wind Rose” - a compass that shows the intensity of air currents, their direction and strength. Thus, the “Wind Rose” protects them from adverse conditions and helps them take advantage of the sea winds. The grape harvest starts in mid-August and lasts until mid-October. The grapes are picked by hand.

The Mondial de Bruxelles traveling competition is held in a different location each year. This year, tasters and world wine experts from 45 countries gathered in Poreč, Croatia in mid-May. There were 7,500 drinks shipped from 50 countries around the world. In terms of the number of awards, the Bordeaux region has the most - over 250. Next year, the prestigious competition will be held in America for the first time, hosted by Mexico.