What wine to expect from the most legendary Bulgarian grape
I am enjoying a bottle of red wine in the evening. I have been tasting it for a while. Well, it looks more like wine drinking than wine tasting, but I like it. What else a man surrounded only by women can do? My friend now is a bottle of Mavrud wine – one of the most popular traditional Bulgarian grape varieties.
Where every wine tasting starts – the cork
Mavrud grape is maybe the widest known local variety in Bulgaria. It is present not only in our wine culture but also in many fairy tales and legends. Sometimes it is controversial. We have been rediscovering it for a while and we are generally happy with it. On a lecture on Bulgarian grapes recently we understood that there are some unusual terroirs of Mavrud across the country. One of them is Struma Valley. Struma Valley is actually famous with other grape varieties, generally known as Melnik family, but it appeared that they produce Mavrud, too.
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We wouldn’t know so much about this area if it wasn’t our friends Zikatanov family, the owners of Villa Melnik winery. They are always happy to share knowledge and interesting facts and we are always happy to taste their wines.
Bergule Mavrud 2014 by Villa Melnik
At first I loved the dark ruby colour. Then it came the scent of herbs, roasted meat and red fruit jam. Medium body, feeling very fresh. It has matured 9 months in oak barrels which made it really soft and nice. At the end there is a light spicy feeling. Generally, you can’t stop tasting it and soon comes the time for a second bottle.
Bergule Mavrud 2014
[success]If you prefer more matured wine with more aromas and tastes, try the Aplauz Mavrud 2013 by Villa Melnik.[/success]
More about Mavrud grape
Mavrud is a late ripening grape variety, maybe the last to enter the winery for the season. It likes warm regions and is not happy with cold winters. Its most popular terroir is South Central Bulgaria – around Asenovgrad, Pazardzhik, Stara Zagora. It is also grown around Burgas and Pomorie. Mavrud grape ripens around mid-October and needs many warm autumn days.
Where to try Mavrud around Melnik
The beautiful estate of Villa Melnik is near the village of Harsovo, at the foot of Pirin Mountains. They are open daily and in the weekends you can meet the wonderful owners. Tasting their wonderful wines goes with another amazing feature – the marvelous landscape around. The wine cellar is also very interesting and the wines mature in underground sand tunnels.
Villa Melnik winery
[info]Bergulé Mavrud is best to drink slightly cooled – around 15 degrees. It goes well with pork, lamb or veal. Bulgarian folklore also recommends Mavrud to be combined with our traditional meatballs – kyufteta, and especially their variety Tatarsko Kyufte.[/info]
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