Review VINICA Mavrud BIO Zagreus, Jancis Robinson

VINICA MAVRUD BIO ZAGREUS

Jancis Robinson's comment and review

“Congratulations then to both importer (Bulgarian Vintage Ltd of London NW10) and producer of Zagreus, Vinica 2007 Upper Thracian Lowland who have come up with a really unusual, ambitious and successful red based on Bulgaria's signature grape variety Mavrud. This innovative wine is made, most unusually for Bulgaria, by drying some of the grapes for two to three months after the harvest on racks, the method that is so common in north-eastern Italy for the likes of Amarone.”

Pair with powerful food ...

“Certainly this wine tastes as though it has certain tonic properties. It is long on every sort of phenolic you could think of - colour, tannin, flavour - and needs some powerful food to go alongside. It rather overwhelmed the beetroot arancini, deep-fried balls of beetroot-flavoured risotto, that I tried it with in the restaurant at Tate Britain (excellent wine list). I could imagine it going well with grouse, long-hung venison or some other strong game. But it's a fascinating wine with just a slightly tarry undertow. It doesn't have the bitter cherry aspect of a Valpolicella Ripasso but it does have the sour plum and velvet character of - guess what? - Mavrud. The fruit is fresh, clean and appetising and someone clearly knows how to make wine here.” 

“Zagreus Winery aim to make this Vinica wine, named after the Kostadinov family's native village, apparently, rather than as a play on any word meaning 'wine', the winery's flagship” 

“Zagreus the winery looks ultra-modern and was built in 2004. It was called Zagreus (Greek: Ζαγρεύς) because in Greek mythology Zagreus was identified with Dionysus/Bacchus. A cave nearby is supposed to have been a temple to this god of wine.

The Zagreus winery was built by Jordan Kostadinov in Purvomai/Parvomay, just east of Assenovgrad, a name which has long been associated with superior Mavrud, and the ancient city of Plovdiv, at one stage named after the father of Alexander the Great who captured it in 342 BC.

Associated with the Zagreus winery are 120 hectares of vineyards, which must allow for a certain amount of selection. I have been assured that they have just been certified organic, and that the soil is mostly dark to light red (the colour of the soil always seems to be its most important characteristic in ex-Soviet-influenced lands) with a high iron content.”

Also interesting ...

“In Bulgaria, 14 February is not only St Valentine's but also the day of the patron saint of vintners, St Tryphon. On St Tryphon's day the ritual cutting of the vines is taking place. It prompts the approaching spring and the beginning of agricultural activity. Trimming is mainly done by men, but the housewife has kneaded and baked warm bread from early morning. The bread is decorated with a trellis vine, heavy with fruit - grapes, which have been modeled from the paste. She has prepared a chicken stuffed with manna croup and all this is placed into colorful new bag. Early in the morning she gives it to the householder with wooden wine vessels full of wine and sends him to the gate. After the traditional church service the men head to the vineyards, led by a piper.”

Bron: www.jancisrobinson.com

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