At Alko, there is a good selection of red wine, no doubt. However, when it comes to white, this is much more risky. The success rate is mabye 1/6. Anyway, after many failure, I tasted this Chardonnay XR 2008, domaine Boyar in Bulgaria.
Barrel fermented on the label must not fool you. It means that the alcoholic fermentation happened in barrels. This is quite different from the usual use of oak, for ageing purposes. Here, it was used when they transformed the grapes into wine. Usually it is used to age the wine when it is already wine (meaning an alcoholic berverage at 13 to 15%). This does not mean that the wine will not be age also in barrels but the result of such a process is that oak tends to be more integrated. But remember that it is also possible that they « lie » on the label :).
I will just add that Boyar is a huge wine company. They are dedicated to export and aim mainly to USA, Canada, UK, Benelux, Scandinavia (+Finland), Russia and Japan.
And what about this Chardonnay? Honnestly, this is a decent wine. The nose is clearly oaky but nothing excessive and well integrated. Aside from toasty flavours, vanilla and exotic fruits are dominant in the nose. The mouth is balanced with enough freshness, though a bit short and not too expressive. It is simple but well made. For below 10€, this is an highly recommended bargain!
Wineops’ rating: 71/100 ; 0 0
A simple yet very pleasant wine. Will fit well with most summer food, from grilled salmon to sausage and porc. Enjoy!
Alko’s page: HERE.
