Сандански (Sandanski)

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The vineyards lie in the southernmost part of the Struma Valley, in an area encircled by the Pirin, Belasitsa, and Ograzhden mountains, at a mean elevation of 200 metres above sea level.
• The climate is transitional-Mediterranean, with sunshine duration among the highest in the country at 2,506 hours, and mean relative humidity the lowest in the country at 66%.
• The mean number of days with precipitation above 1 mm is only 69–70 per year, and the area is characterised by a comparatively low number of foggy days — just 5 per year, occurring only during the winter months.
• Owing to the considerable sunshine during the winter months, snow cover in the area persists for only a few days, and the winter itself is mild.
• The heat summation over the growing season reaches 4,385°C, the mean daily temperature of the warmest month is 24.9°C, while the soils in the area are mainly heavily eroded sandy-clay loams.

• The wine-grape variety authorised for the production of wine under the protected designation of origin Sandanski is Cabernet Sauvignon.
• Vines are trained using umbrella, Moser, or medium-trunk bilateral cordon systems, with mixed and short pruning to a load of up to 54 buds per vine.

• The red wine is deeply coloured and full of extract, with a pronounced aroma of ripe dark forest fruits and spices, a dense and juicy palate with a very fruity character and elegant notes of vanilla and chocolate.
• The rosé displays a delicate, refined, rich, and attractive nose — a symphony of ripe strawberry and black cherry with hints of raspberry and violet — alongside a very fruity, tender, caressing strawberry-raspberry palate and an exceptionally long finish.

• The transitional-Mediterranean climate with Mediterranean influence, the shelter provided by the Pirin, Belasitsa, and Ograzhden mountains, together with the heavily eroded sandy-clay loam soils and the constraints imposed by human intervention, all contribute to the production of a red wine that is deeply coloured and full of extract, with a pronounced aroma of ripe dark forest fruits and spices.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Bulgaria

Sources

• National product specification (PDF) — iavv
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-BG-A1006
• Official trade body site — НЛВК — Национална лозаро-винарска камара