Damianitza Uniqato Rose 2005 - Made from Melnik grapes. Weird day-glo pink. Sweet on entry. Slightly hot and bitter on finish. Lots of body for a rose. Friendly wine. Not bad.
Damianitza Redark Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 - One of the top wines from this producer. Lots of fruit on the nose. Initially dry, spicy, tannic. Dried fruit. Medium-bodied. Initial impression was quite good for me and in need of further aging. After an hour, it developed a great deal of sweetness on the palate and seemed to have fallen apart in the finish. Initially my no. 2 wine of the tasting but after airing, was my no. 3.
Damianitza No Man's Land 2003 - A Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend. A little stinky. Sweet attack. Plenty of acid to balance, though. Generally soft in the mouth although the tannins make an appearance in the finish which indicates possible improvement in this wine with a bit of cellaring. Still, a good drink now. My no. 2 wine of the tasting.
Damianitza No Man's Land Gold 2005 - Again Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot. I thought this was the higher end wine in the No Man's Land range since it was designated Gold but it turns out this was the cheapest wine in the tasting. Oak, tobacco, sweet, spicy. Nice balance but diluted. Simple. An early drinker. Good enough if priced low.
Damianitza Uniqato Melnik 2005 - Red wine from Melnik grapes. Tobacco and coffee on the nose. Modern. Medium bodied and spicy. Good balance and genuine complexity. Lots of berry fruit. Interesting. Can be drunk now but good enough for some short-term cellaring. Very good. My favorite wine of the tasting.
My only previous experience with Bulgarian wines were the terrible offerings from Sophia so these wines from Damianitza were a nice surprise; showing that Bulgaria can produce world class wines.