Volcanic Wine Awards | The Jancis Robinson Story | Mission Blind Tasting

Points east – autumn collection

Image


See this guide to our autumn collections.

We offer you our most geographically diverse assortment of more than 70 wine reviews here, divided first by country – Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia and Turkey, then by colour and then in descending score order. Again, the UK retailer Marks & Spencer deserves a pat on the back for the hard work put in to finding some genuinely interesting wines from a number of these wine-producing countries definitively off the beaten track.

BULGARIA


RED

Soft and sweet and round. Fading but very ripe tasting. Very...
Some development, some freshness. Sweet and transparent...
Pale ruby. Slight dishcloth/wet wool note. A bit simple. (JR)
66% Merlot, 12% Syrah, 12% Petit Verdot and 10% Cabernet...

GEORGIA

WHITE

The Tbilvino vineyards are planted at an altitude of 300-750m...
The Château Mukhrani vineyards were planted in 2002 at a density...

RED

The Château Mukhrani vineyards are planted adjacent to the...
Tank sample. Inviting fruit quality and freshness. Slight...
From Akhasheni village. Nose is overwhelmed by sweet oak spice...
Very deeply coloured. Dark fruit but also a touch meaty with a...
Fermented in qvevri. Deep smudgy garnet. Lots of savoury black...
Semi-sweet red (RS 40 g/l) made from Mujuretuli and Alexandreuli...
Unnecessarily heavy bottle. Winemaker Lado Uzunashvili (also of...
Attractive and unusual old-fashioned sort of flask-shaped bottle...
Fruit from Tsinandali subregion. Aged in oak, unfiltered. Mid...

GREECE

WHITE

Assyrtiko. Big and a bit heavy. I think I prefer the standard...
Some skin contact. Exciting! Very light honey and grip. Lots of...
Dafni means bayleaf. Low-key nose and low acid. Some herbal...
The 100 square metres of Thymiopoulos vineyards are situated in...

ROSÉ

The vines here are pruned in a unique way known as “apolitaria”...

RED

Dark crimson. Thick and rich – very ripe indeed. Almost porty...

Dark crimson. Great tang on the nose. Pretty chewy. Dry finish...
Kotsifali and Mandilari with about 10% Syrah.
Light cherry red...
The Thymiopoulos vineyards nestle between the trees of the...
HUNGARY
WHITE

Slightly soft and floral. Great packaging but not as energetic...

A little muted on the nose for a Furmint. Tame Furmint, I'd say...
Attractive, rich cooked apple fruits and woodspice. Lovely...
Dry, medium bodied, stone fruit. Nice savoury finish with a...
Neutral nose with a slight aromatic signature à la Muscat. Dry...
Has the sort of ripe melon and yellow fruit with a creamy...
Fresh apple and lemon, with a stony character that evokes...
Green apples, ripe creamy fruit, a lick of oak – this gets it...
Very much a Viognier lookalike, with a creamy, soft palate...
Interesting green citrus and tropical fruit combination. Very...
Utterly screwball flor / oxidative character. Old blue cheese on...
Nutty and broad on the palate – tangible peanut character...
Off-dry, fruity and very pleasant yellow fruit character – melon...
Overripe apple, some oxidative, bruised character too. Rabbit...
Plenty of aromatic concentration for such low alcohol. Pretty...
Oxidative, honeyed nose. Has that phenolic grip and dried fruit...
Very opulent Muscat nose of grape juice, flowers and sweet spice...

RED

Interesting! Nuts, mint, blackcurrant leaf – so characterful...
This is a real oddity. It is sold as an EU Tafelwein carrying...
12-year-old Malbec vines have at last delivered apparently...
Closed nose. Fragrant, oak-dominated palate. Very commercial...

Dry, black fruit, soft tannins. Rather conventional, standard...

Slightly leafy with a dark black fruit core. Not dissimilar to...

Rich, plummy fruit. Soft tannins with a full body. Plump...

Open, countryside sort of aromas – in a nice way – like meadows...
Very, very prominent sweet vanilla (Hungarian?) oak. Mulling...

Strong medicinal character. Wood varnish too. Probably too...

Ageing very well – lovely earthy scent. Fruit is drying out...
Oaked. Riper black fruit than their junior version. Firm tannins...
Pleasantly leafy nose, and ripe raspberry fruit. Cinnamon stick...
Nice earthy development on the nose – appealing and savoury...
High acid, neutral fruit. Very sharp palate, with an un-fresh...

MACEDONIA


WHITE

Smederevka is the main indigenous grape variety in Macedonia...

RED

The vines here grow on a mixture of alluvial and clay soils...


ROMANIA...

Become a member or log in to continue reading
Member
$135
/year
Save over 15% annually
Ideal for wine enthusiasts
  • Access 295,210 wine reviews & 16,091 articles
  • Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
  • Access askJancis, our AI wine assistant
Inner Circle
$249
/year
 
Ideal for collectors

Everything in “Member”, plus:

  • Early access to the latest wine reviews, 48 hours in advance
  • Early access to the latest articles, 48 hours in advance
Professional
$299
/year
For individual wine professionals
  • Access 295,210 wine reviews & 16,091 articles
  • Access The Oxford Companion to Wine & The World Atlas of Wine
  • Access askJancis, our AI wine assistant
  • Early access to the latest wine reviews & articles, 48 hours in advance
  • Commercial use of up to 25 wine reviews & scores for marketing
Business
$399
/year
For companies in the wine trade

Everything in “Professional”, plus:

  • Commercial use of up to 250 wine reviews & scores for marketing
  • Access to submit wines for review
  • Offer memberships to your employees and manage them from a single place
  • API access available for an additional fee
Pay with
Visa logo Mastercard logo American Express logo Logo for more payment options
Join our newsletter

Get the latest from Jancis and her team of leading wine experts.

By subscribing you agree with our Privacy Policy and provide consent to receive updates from our company.

More Tasting articles

Glass of rose with food
Tasting articles Rosés for every occasion, from poolside pinks to robust BBQ-ready versions. We at JancisRobinson.com view the world through rose-tinted spectacles...
Tertius Boshoff of Stellenrust shows off multiple Chenins in London
Tasting articles The many Cape Chenins and Chenin blends shown at a big South African tasting in London in May reviewed. Tertius...
Beaujolais vineyard harvest imminent
Tasting articles Bien Boire (‘drinking well’) en Beaujolais is more fun than Bordeaux’s primeurs and offers plenty of excellent wines, reports Natasha...
Alessandro Campatelli of Riecine
Tasting articles Pleasant surprises from a torrid year. Above, Alessandro Campatelli, director and oenologist (and now owner) at Riecine, made a 2022...

More from JancisRobinson.com

Jota Tanaka at Gotemba distillery
Drinks not wine An exploration of the transparency of Japanese whisky – and how that sensibility is influencing whiskey-making back in Scotland. Above...
Chenin Blanxc vineyard in South Africa
Free for all Jancis makes a suggestion. A version of this article is also published by the Financial Times. See also South Africa’s...
A bottle of Moreau Naudet Chablis
Wines of the week A reference Chablis, albeit in a riper style, available from $39.95, £31.95 . Prompted by our recent forum discussion about...
The Pacific ocean view from Flowers Vineyards
Don't quote me Chris Howard asks, if there’s such a thing as volcanic wine, can there be oceanic wine? Above, seals on the...
Japanese Wine by Nick Rowan - book cover
Book reviews Nick Rowan’s new book is an amazingly complete guide to the wine (and cheese!) of Japan, for amateurs and professionals...
Ballymaloe House May 2026
Nick on restaurants An international institution in the southern Irish countryside. In 2011 I travelled to Ballymaloe House, a 40-minute drive from Cork...
female urban hands each holding a glass of wine - Shutterstock
Free for all Pauline Vicard asks, can wine still justify its cultural relevance? The answer to this question, rather than economics, may become...
Thomas Walk Vineyard in Kinsale
Free for all Jancis is put in her place, by the hybrid grapes of the Emerald Isle. A shorter version of this article...
Wine inspiration delivered directly to your inbox, weekly
Our weekly newsletter is free for all
By subscribing you're confirming that you agree with our Terms and Conditions.