Chateau Copsa, Bulgaria, is a winery and a hotel in the heart of the Bulgarian Rose Valley. At the very beginning of March we had the great pleasure to stay in Chateau Copsa, where we relaxed and enjoyed delicious food and fine wine. The weather was so sunny and it allowed us to stroll through different sights nearby.
In this article I will tell you about my impressions of the Chateau Copsa wine complex.
The atmosphere at Chateau Copsa, Bulgaria
We arrived there at sunset time, you know – then all the colors are different and magnetic. As soon as we checked in, we went out to walk around. The whole sky was stained by the sunset. This gave incredible beauty to the place and the nearby snowy Balkan heights.
At night the castle also looks very beautiful.
The complex has two separate hotel units – the stone Chateau Copsa castle and the modern Art Hotel Maison Copsa. The castle has 4 boutique rooms and one apartment, and Maison Copsa – 19 rooms and 4 suites. Each of the hotel units has a restaurant. Breakfast is served in Maison Copsa’s restaurant. For lunch and dinner, guests of the complex can choose between the two restaurants.
Tip: If you are there over the weekend, book a dinner table in advance. Very often, the complex is full during the weekends (but not overcrowded!).
Our room was in Maison Copsa on the first floor – a spacious and with a very high ceiling. In front of the room we had a veranda with a cozy recreation area with a table and a large lawn in front.
We also had bunnies for company 🙂 .
I can not miss also the luxury cosmetics in the bathroom and the extremely fast Internet (something very important for me).
No doubt, our room was quite comfortable, but I am not going to bore you with more talks about that. Simply, when I am not at home, I am somewhat more impressed by the things that can be done and seen outside of the room.
Chateau Copsa has an outdoor pool, which is available to the guests of the hotel during the summer.
Chateau Copsa: the views
Chateau Copsa is situated in the Karlovo valley between Stara Planina and Sredna Gora mountains. There are beautiful panoramic views in all directions. Of course, the closest ones are to the vineyards that embraced the complex, and the farthest – to the two mountains.
In the area you can walk to the nearby mound with the roe deers – look at Sredna Gora and you will see it. As people from the hotel told us, there was a Thracian tomb under the mound, sadly robbed a long time ago.
From Chateau Copsa you can see the Anevo Kale – a medieval Bulgarian fortress situated on a high stone ridge in the southern skirts of the Balkan Mountains. You can go to the fortress. There is a trail starting from outskirts of the village of Anevo. The pedestrian route takes about an hour of walking, but note – it is not easy.
Chateau Copsa: the food
Breakfast is served in the Mezon Copsa restaurant – it is called Zelanos. I liked the fact that, apart from the traditional dishes with tomatoes, cucumbers, sausage and cheese, there were freshly prepared pancakes, cakes, croissants and hot mekitsas.
Both evenings of our stay we had dinner in Chateau Copsa’s restaurant, Le Cave, in a very cozy and refined atmosphere.
The restaurant is spacious, with 9-10 large tables with a capacity of 60 seats. When we were in the restaurant, there were no more than two or three people on each of the tables. So no matter how big the company is on the table, another company is not allowed to settle there.
The service is on a high level, and the food is delicious and looks very well.
Of course, all this has a price, but it’s worth it.
Chateau Copsa: the wine
During the two dinners, we were able to try out several different wines.
Karlovy Misket Zeyla – the name Zeyla derives from the ritual wine of the Thracians. The Karlovy Misket is a grape variety that is typical for the region.
Stradivarius Selection Rouge – we tried harvests from 2014 and 2015. The wine is a coupage of my favorite red varieties Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah … very good, especially the 2014 crop with a softened fruit aroma.
Chateau Copsa Rouge – a much heavier and thicker wine, a Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon coupage.
Why Chateau and why Copsa
The word Chateau is French and means a castle with vineyards. Typically, the name of the castle becomes the name of the wine produced by the vineyards.
Copsa comes from Copsis – a medieval town in the area of today’s Sopot.
How to get to Chateau Copsa, Bulgaria
It is located in the Karlovo valley, part of the Rose Valley, about 5 km west of the town of Sopot and 130 km east of Sofia, which takes about 2 hours of driving on the picturesque Sub-Balkan road. Just before the village of Anevo you have to turn south to Chateau Copsa, there are road signs.
Interesting places nearby
There are a lot of interesting places in the area of Sopot and Karlovo. Below I list only a few of the most impressive, because I intend to dedicate a separate article to the region:
- Anevo Kale fortress;
- Sopot Monastery and Sopot Falls;
- Sopot: house-museum Ivan Vazov;
- Karlovo: house-museum Vasil Levski, church St. Nicholas, church Assumption of Virgin Mary, Revival houses, Suchurum waterfall.
For more information and reservations, visit the website of Chateau Copsa. You can also book via Booking.com here.
