Excursion "Wine Tour" in the Chateau of Prince Trubetskoy
Not far from Kherson and Novaya Kakhovka, in the village with the beautiful name Veseloe, there is an equally beautiful wine-making complex "Prince Trubetskoy's Chateau". This is the only historical winemaking chateau in Ukraine. For 120 years, the drink of the gods has been born here. We also decided to make a romantic journey into the history of winemaking and went on a wine tour.
``````````````````````````````````] Kozatskoye, where the Trubetskoy estate was previously located and in 1896. the first vineyards were laid, the selection of land for laying which was carried out by the chief winemaker of the Russian Empire, Prince Lev Golitsyn, who was a friend of Trubetskoy. Now only ruins remain of the estate, but the place itself is unique, as small rocky waterfalls hit from above, which is generally a rare occurrence for our steppes.
The ruins of the prince's estate
For grapes, there are ideal climatic conditions and land composition, therefore, already in 1900. at a wine exhibition in Paris, Riesling wine received the Grand Prix. And in 1902. winemakers of Prince Trubetskoy are awarded the first Alexander III Prize for the best table wine, and in 1903. receive an award for exemplary vineyard culture.
Advanced technologies were already used at that time
(note the electric press)
But after the well-known events of 1917, the winery and the land of Pyotr Nikolaevich Trubetskoy were nationalized. And the winery named after Lenin was created, which brought the standards of vintage wines to the history of winemaking: the legendary dry red wine Oksamyt of Ukraine and dry white wine Perlyna stepu and Naddniprianske. These wines became the hallmark of Ukraine and were even supplied to the British Royal Court. The vintage wines of the economy have received 33 gold and silver medals in their history. But then Ukraine became independent and in the 90s the economy experienced its not the best of times. And already in 2003, thanks to investors, a global reconstruction began to introduce European technologies for the production of dry wines using classic French technologies. New vineyards were planted on 200 hectares and exceptional grapes of international varieties from Italy and France were planted: Cabernet, Aligote, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir. They also planted the famous Malbec variety, but the wine from this variety, which I drank in France, is very different from the local Malbec, something apparently does not suit him here. The wine here is made 100% natural, directly from the grapes, either from a pure variety or blending varieties.
In 2013, the reconstruction of the historic building of the winery was completed.
Historic winery building
The territory of the complex is very well-groomed with access directly to the banks of the Dnieper.
Territory of Trubetskoy Chateau
There is even a hotel with 10 rooms and an atmospheric banquet hall on the territory.
And Prince Trubetskoy meets everyone in the hall.
Prince Peter Nikolaevich Troubetzkoy
And under the dome of the tower, the God of wine Dionysus is watching everyone closely.
We go into the room and find ourselves in the wine cellars of the times of Prince Trubetskoy, which are used for aging and storing wines. 8 wine cellars store more than 10.000 bottles of wine, some of which are very rare.
Wine storage galleries
Here is the famous "Naddnipriansk" 1958
After wandering around the cellars and galleries of the winery, listening to an interesting tour about the culture of winemaking and its origin, we go for a tasting.
Tasting
The tasting room is large, there is also a restaurant where you can buy the wine you like at the tasting.
In general, Trubetskoy wines include 4 collections of wines, which are combined according to style and production method.
The first one is young wines, i. e. fresh drinks, without aging in barrels. They are quite rustic in taste and have no aftertaste.
The second is a collection of aged wines - i. e. has a shelf life of at least 6 months. These wines already have a more pronounced taste.
The third group is vintage wines aged in barrels for at least two years. These are wines with a pronounced rich taste, bright bouquet and persistent aftertaste.
And finally, the premium collection, ie. this is a wine from grapes harvested from certain areas of vineyards, with a long aging period, which has limited editions.
The tasting included an assessment of 6 types of wine, two of which were ordinary wines - Aligote (white) and Cabernet (red). Well, ordinary wine is ordinary, everything met its standard, but did not cause delight. My husband sat at the edge of the table, and since the tour guide did not take part in drinking, he got a double tasting.
The best place next to the guide ( already tasting the second portion)
At first, the people silently watched, then they began to resent that let's somehow take turns giving the supplement. Then there were two types of aged wines - Riesling (white) and Merlot (red). These wines had a richer taste, but still, they did not reach the ideal.
Well, in conclusion, we tasted vintage wines - Chardonnay (white) and Prince Trubetskoy (a blend of Merlot and Cabernet). Well, I am indifferent to Chardonnay, but Prince Trubetskoy, yes, the taste of the wine is very rich, vintage, the aroma is exquisite, the bouquet is fully revealed. Recommended for connoisseurs.
In the process of tasting, it is necessary to evaluate all the qualities of the wine: taste, color, aroma, bouquet, vintage and rate it.
Filling out the tasting sheet (the main thing is to make a smart look)
Well, our tasting has come to an end, and having bought a bottle of wine we like, we leave the historical Chateau of Ukrainian winemaking.
We liked the tour. This is a unique complex not only for Ukraine; delegations from different countries of Europe and the world come here. And we have the opportunity to enjoy chic wine. "Oksamit of Ukraine" received a gold medal at the Prodexpo exhibition, "Perlyna Stepu" took a silver medal, and "Riesling" and "Chardonnay" received a bronze award.
