Bessa Valley
Count Stephan von Neipperg, owner of several famous Bordeaux properties, including Châteaux Canon La Gaffelière and La Mondotte, sought out the Bessa Valley where the wonderful clay-limestone soils showed him the potential to make great wines. In the shadow of the dramatic Rhodope Mountains, these soils provide the structure, strength and minerality that allows Stephan to create wonderful wines that are full of power and elegance. The strong presence of limestone in the soil is very similar to that in Saint Emilion, which is why the particular area was chosen. By 2005 the winery had planted 140 Ha of vineyards - 55％ of Merlot, and equal amounts of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.
The project started in 2001 by purchasing lands from around 800 people in the area of Ognianovo village (region of Pazardzhik). Part of the cellar is dug in the rock, which is of a great significance for the preservation and maturing of the wine in oak barrels. The rock allows the maintenance of a constant temperature and humidity of the air.
Only acacia sticks are used for vine support. Currently the yield from the Valley is around 650 000 kg of grapes. About 720 000 bottles of wine will be made from those. The grapes are picked manually by trained personnel and sorted twice during grape picking. The pickers collect only the best berries; the berries undergo a secondary sorting before being transported to the fermentation tanks.
Bessa Valley Winery is using only French oak barrels barriques. Alcohol fermentation and maceration take place for about 30 days. The malolactic fermentation takes place into the tanks, and partially into some new barrels. Enira Reserva ages on sediment for 16 months, 35% in new barrels and 65% one-year old barrels.
