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Wine of the Year 2026: our two Bulgarian Mavrud finalists score 8.5 and 8+
VINICA Mavrud 2020 and Family Collection Mavrud 2020
At the 2026 Wine of the Year final during Gastvrij Rotterdam.
Strong professional interest in Bulgarian Mavrud on final day
On Monday, 21 September, VINICA Mavrud 2020 and Family Collection Mavrud 2020 from Zagreus Winery, presented by importer Bulwine Import, were among the finalists of the 38th Proefschrift Wine Competition during Gastvrij Rotterdam at Rotterdam Ahoy. More than one hundred finalist wines were available to taste and were presented by their respective importers, before the Wine of the Year winners in each category were announced later that day.
Neither of our two Mavrud wines ultimately took the Wine of the Year 2026 title. But the final gave us plenty else to look back on: strong professional interest in Bulgaria as a wine country, repeated questions about the indigenous Mavrud grape and, ultimately, two very positive official jury assessments. VINICA Mavrud 2020 received 8.5, while Family Collection Mavrud 2020 received 8+.
Throughout the day, professionals from hospitality, wine retail and other sales channels came to our table to taste the wines. What stood out was how rarely the conversation ended with the taste itself. Visitors wanted to know what Mavrud actually is, why the grapes for both wines are partially dried before winemaking, what Bulgarian oak contributes to the wines and how Bulgarian wines have now managed to reach the Proefschrift final several years in succession.
In our earlier article about the two Bulgarian Mavrud finalists in 2026, we explored the nominations, the way both wines are made and the sequence of Proefschrift finals over recent years. This time, we look back at the final day itself, the reactions from visitors and the jury's final verdict.
Four questions that kept coming up
What does Bulgarian wine taste like?
It may have been the most fundamental question of the day, but there is no single answer. Bulgaria has several wine regions, different climates, indigenous and international grape varieties, and a wide range of wine styles. At this tasting, VINICA and Family Collection showed one particularly distinctive side of Bulgarian red wine: ripe and concentrated, with generous fruit and structure, yet enough acidity and balance to keep everything in proportion.
For several visitors, this was their first deliberate encounter with a high-quality Bulgarian wine. That made it particularly interesting to see how a broad question such as “What does Bulgarian wine taste like?” often turned into much more specific questions about grape variety, winemaking and maturation once the wines had been tasted.
What is Mavrud?
Mavrud is an indigenous Bulgarian red grape variety and one of the grapes most closely associated with the wine traditions of southern Bulgaria. Zagreus Winery has made Mavrud central to its range, producing a number of very different expressions of the variety. VINICA and Family Collection are among its more concentrated interpretations.
That is also why the final jury assessments are so interesting. They do not focus only on power and ripeness. In its assessment of Family Collection, the jury specifically highlights how clearly the character of the Mavrud grape comes through.
Wine from dried Mavrud grapes?
The production method prompted plenty of questions too. Both finalists are made from Mavrud grapes that are partially dried after harvest. As the grapes lose some of their water, their colour, aromas and other components become more concentrated. The principle may remind wine lovers of techniques used in parts of Italy, but here Zagreus applies it to Bulgaria's own Mavrud grape.
Importantly, VINICA and Family Collection are dry red wines. The drying process is not used to create a dessert wine, but to build greater concentration, structure and complexity. Our earlier article about the nominations goes into the method in considerably more detail.
What does Bulgarian oak bring to the wine?
For many visitors, the use of Bulgarian oak was perhaps even more surprising. French and American oak are familiar terms to most wine enthusiasts, but several tasters were unaware that a Bulgarian producer might deliberately choose locally sourced oak for maturation.
With these Mavrud wines, the purpose of oak is not simply to add flavour or obscure the character of the grape. The maturation needs to work with the concentrated fruit and structure of the wine. This is particularly relevant to Family Collection, which undergoes extended ageing in Bulgarian oak barriques. That makes the jury's recognition of its clearly identifiable Mavrud character all the more interesting.
VINICA Mavrud 2020: 8.5 – substance, depth and length
VINICA Mavrud 2020 competed in red category C, up to €25. It was part of a varied group of red-wine finalists and ultimately received a jury score of 8.5.
The official tasting assessment highlights many of the same qualities that came up in conversations at our tasting table. The jury found VINICA very dark and intense, with substantial depth. Its range of flavours, ripe fruit, well-judged acidity and long finish were also viewed positively.
In the original Dutch assessment, Proefschrift particularly emphasises the wine's substance and depth as well as its length. Those points matter because concentration alone is never the goal. A wine can be powerful without being balanced; what makes VINICA's assessment particularly interesting is the combination of ripe fruit, acidity, structure and persistence.
VINICA Mavrud 2020
Zagreus Winery – Thracian Lowlands, Bulgaria
100% Mavrud, organic
Proefschrift Wine Competition 2026: 8.5 – finalist
Red, category C, up to €25
Translation of the official jury assessment of VINICA Mavrud 2020 at the 38th Proefschrift Wine Competition for Wine of the Year 2026. The original assessment is in Dutch. Source: Proefschrift / The Wine & Food Association (NL).
View VINICA Mavrud BIO | From dried grapes ...
Family Collection Mavrud 2020: 8+ and a clear expression of Mavrud
Family Collection Mavrud 2020 competed in red category E, up to €40, where it also reached the final. Its official jury score was 8+.
The jury describes a very deep, almost black colour together with ripe dark-red and black fruit on both nose and palate. The wine's development, purity and overall balance are also assessed positively. One aspect of the original Dutch tasting note stands out in particular: the jury considers it a very good expression of the Mavrud grape.
That is particularly significant for Family Collection. This is 100% Mavrud from organically grown grapes, made from partially dried fruit and matured for an extended period in Bulgarian oak barriques. The method naturally brings concentration and power, yet according to the jury the identity of Mavrud itself remains clearly recognisable. Proefschrift also describes the wine as flavourful and well balanced, with a distinctly gastronomic character.
Family Collection Mavrud 2020
Zagreus Winery – Thracian Lowlands, Bulgaria
100% Mavrud, organic
Proefschrift Wine Competition 2026: 8+ – finalist
Red, category E, up to €40
Translation of the official jury assessment of Family Collection Mavrud at the 38th Proefschrift Wine Competition for Wine of the Year 2026. The original assessment is in Dutch. Source: Proefschrift / The Wine & Food Association (NL).
View Family Collection Mavrud BIO | From dried grapes ...
No Wine of the Year title – but two wines in the final selection
Of course, we went to Rotterdam hoping that one of our two wines might ultimately be named Wine of the Year 2026. That did not happen, but it does not diminish the significance of reaching the final. On the first day of Gastvrij Rotterdam, visitors could taste more than one hundred finalist wines that had previously been selected by the jury and were being presented by their importers. Both VINICA and Family Collection were part of that final selection.
They also came away with two concrete jury results: VINICA Mavrud 2020 – 8.5 and Family Collection Mavrud 2020 – 8+. For an indigenous Bulgarian grape that is still relatively unfamiliar to many wine drinkers — and even to some professionals in the Netherlands — we consider that meaningful recognition.
Proefschrift has published the complete results and jury assessments in its reports on the winners and finalists of the 38th Proefschrift Wine Competition. You can find our two Mavrud wines and their full official tasting notes in Part 2 of the publications (in Dutch).
Wine of the Year 2026 – winners and finalists, part 1 →
Wine of the Year 2026 – winners and finalists, part 2 →
Five competitions in a row – and that surprised many visitors
One of the reactions that stood out most during the final came when we explained that the two 2026 nominations were not an isolated success. Every year from 2022 through 2026, at least one wine from Zagreus Winery in our portfolio has reached the final of the Proefschrift Wine Competition. In several years, there were two.
For visitors who still think of Bulgaria as an unfamiliar or emerging wine country, that came as a surprise. One final can be an excellent result or an unexpected success, but when different wines and vintages are selected year after year by a professional jury from a broad international field, a different picture begins to emerge. It is no longer simply about one successful bottle; it becomes a story of consistency.
We covered that five-competition sequence in detail in our earlier article about the 2026 nominations.
Explore five consecutive years of Proefschrift results for our Zagreus wines ...
What we will remember most from the day
A wine competition ultimately ends with scores, categories and winners, but something happened at our tasting table that is harder to capture in a number. People came because two Bulgarian wines had reached the final, and then wanted to know what Bulgarian wine tastes like, what Mavrud is, why the grapes are dried before winemaking, why a Bulgarian producer chooses Bulgarian oak and how wines from the same producer have managed to return to the Proefschrift final year after year.
That is perhaps what stayed with us most. We went to Rotterdam with two finalists and came home without the Wine of the Year title, but with two strong jury assessments and many new tasters who now know what Mavrud is and why this Bulgarian grape has held our attention for so many years.
VINICA Mavrud 2020: 8.5. Family Collection Mavrud 2020: 8+. Two different expressions of the same Bulgarian grape, two finalists, and another place for Mavrud in a broad international selection.
View VINICA Mavrud BIO | From dried grapes ...
View Family Collection Mavrud BIO | From dried grapes ...
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