We, the wine-makers from Bessa Valley, are inspired by this place as much as the Bessians were, 3500 years ago.
Now we are the Bessians! It is our destiny to grow the vines of the Valley and make great wine from their fruit year after year.
Everything is done with the greatest respect for the nature, the people, the vines and its fruit. We are not in a hurry. We are not losing the harmony.
ТHE VALLEY OF THE BESSIANS
the source of all great wine
The Valley
Four thousand years ago merchants from Troy came to the West of the Black Sea, in the Land of Thrace to purchase the most famous ancient drink. Those were magical times. Thracian Kings went hunting for wild bulls and lions. The vine-growers from the Rhodope Mountains were enchanted by young Orpheus’s harp.
3 500 years ago, this was the valley of the Bessians, the most rebellious of Thracians. They safeguarded and kept the sanctuary of the God of wine and were known as the most competent in his cult’s rituals.
Hellenes from the south polis called it “Twice born” , Dionysus. Could that have been a prophecy about the revival of the Valley and its wine?
After the Great Migration of the People, the bloodline in the valley changed and different people came. The wine, however, remained. It was praised in the songs of the Bards from the West and the poems of the East poets.
The terroir of Bessa Valley
The soil is the source of all great wine. This concept, paramount, is defined as the complex interaction between soils and climates. This same concept has naturally led us to Bessa Valley. Located about 150 km southeast of Sofia, near Plovdiv, the terroir of Bessa Valley is based on clay and limestone soils.
This valley, bordered on the south by the Rhodope Mountains, and north by the hills of about 230 m above sea level, offers an ideal location. The winds are rushing offset the excess temperatures, hot or cold, continental climate related. It also benefits from the influence of the Maritsa River, which flows some kilometers away.
The wines from these great clay-limestone soils provide power and structure, but also acidity and minerality. By soil type, some particular attention was paid to the selection of rootstocks, very qualitative and productive. Merlot is the majority (53%), as based on the terroirs. Other varieties (Syrah 25% Petit Verdot and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon 10%) occupy the upper parts of the hills.
