For the third year in a row, it's Bulgarian Wine Month thanks to BulgarianWine.com! Check out the reviews from the first year (2015), the second year (2016), and this year (2017).
To read about the fascinating history of Bulgarian wine, check out Bulgaria - Part 1: Three-Thousand Years of Wine History. To learn about the grapes, wine regions and Bulgarian wine's place in the market, read Part 2: The Current State of Bulgarian Wine. And if you'd like to see what Bulgaria's national drink is all about, find out in Part 3: Invincibility of Rakia.
This is it! The finale of this year's Bulgarian wine month! Next year I'm hoping we can do it all again; this time with a new article and maybe some rakia! Thank you, Vance, for the support and the opportunity to drink some Bulgarian wine and tell the world about them!
I'm putting this month to a close with a pair of Mavruds. This is a native Bulgarian varietal. Mavrud's fruit is small, low yielding and late ripening but it makes the #1 top selling local wine within the country of Bulgaria. It's inky in color, tannic, spicy and normally sees a lot of oak aging. Stewed fruit and herbs are its common flavor characteristics.
Before I start, I gotta say that I reviewed A LOT of Bulgarian wine this month and I didn't have to waste any of it (except for one faulty bottle). So I've just gotta give some more love to ArT Wine Preservation because it's all thanks to them. I tried their argon spray cans back in July, and their product made this month a great one for me. I was able to spread out the bottles and pretty much have a glass of wine every night. How cool is that? So please go check out ArT Wine Preservation. They're doing good work.
VERSION PLAISIR DIVIN MAVRUD 2013
This wine received a gold medal at the 2016 Concours Mondial Bruxelles. It has a 14.5% ABV and is from Mavrud's favorite place on the planet: the tiny area of Assenovgrad, north of the Rhodope Mountains in Thracian Valley. The color of the wine is ruby red with vibrant highlights. The head aroma in charge is toasty oak, followed by black cherries, blackberries, black olives and mint. The tasting notes on BulgarianWine.com say there's juniper berries but I'm not getting that. Maybe you will. The midpalate is just lovely. Medium bodied, lush and silky smooth with soft tannin and flavors of black cherries, cranberries, vanilla, and chocolate covered raisins. It finishes super long with all of those flavors and a silky, sensual mouthfeel.
Wow! WOW! This. Is. Outstanding. Here's the link to buy it now because you need to try it for yourself: http://store.bulgarianwine.com/pldima.html
QUALITY VS PRICE RATING
ELENOVO MAVRUD 2011
Also out of Thracian Valley, this wine is a browning garnet in color. It's 14% in ABV but the ethanol is strong on the nose. There's aromas of stewed plums, blackberry sauce, mocha, rubber, vanilla, and tarragon. In the mouth it's full bodied with structured tannin. Beautifully expressive flavors of both fresh plums and prunes, blackberries, pencil shavings, mocha and vanilla. It sees a bright uplift on the long lasting finish into almost a cherry candy and strawberry licorice like profile, with a smooth and silky mouthfeel.
Wow. WOW! Both of these Mavruds are GREAT! This one is $30 so it's seeing more scrutiny than the last but that doesn't even hurt it that much because it's pretty friggin awesome. You can buy it here: http://store.bulgarianwine.com/20edmielma.html
This is it! The finale of this year's Bulgarian wine month! Next year I'm hoping we can do it all again; this time with a new article and maybe some rakia! Thank you, Vance, for the support and the opportunity to drink some Bulgarian wine and tell the world about them!
I'm putting this month to a close with a pair of Mavruds. This is a native Bulgarian varietal. Mavrud's fruit is small, low yielding and late ripening but it makes the #1 top selling local wine within the country of Bulgaria. It's inky in color, tannic, spicy and normally sees a lot of oak aging. Stewed fruit and herbs are its common flavor characteristics.
Before I start, I gotta say that I reviewed A LOT of Bulgarian wine this month and I didn't have to waste any of it (except for one faulty bottle). So I've just gotta give some more love to ArT Wine Preservation because it's all thanks to them. I tried their argon spray cans back in July, and their product made this month a great one for me. I was able to spread out the bottles and pretty much have a glass of wine every night. How cool is that? So please go check out ArT Wine Preservation. They're doing good work.
VERSION PLAISIR DIVIN MAVRUD 2013
This wine received a gold medal at the 2016 Concours Mondial Bruxelles. It has a 14.5% ABV and is from Mavrud's favorite place on the planet: the tiny area of Assenovgrad, north of the Rhodope Mountains in Thracian Valley. The color of the wine is ruby red with vibrant highlights. The head aroma in charge is toasty oak, followed by black cherries, blackberries, black olives and mint. The tasting notes on BulgarianWine.com say there's juniper berries but I'm not getting that. Maybe you will. The midpalate is just lovely. Medium bodied, lush and silky smooth with soft tannin and flavors of black cherries, cranberries, vanilla, and chocolate covered raisins. It finishes super long with all of those flavors and a silky, sensual mouthfeel.
Wow! WOW! This. Is. Outstanding. Here's the link to buy it now because you need to try it for yourself: http://store.bulgarianwine.com/pldima.html
QUALITY VS PRICE RATING
Price: $17
ELENOVO MAVRUD 2011
Also out of Thracian Valley, this wine is a browning garnet in color. It's 14% in ABV but the ethanol is strong on the nose. There's aromas of stewed plums, blackberry sauce, mocha, rubber, vanilla, and tarragon. In the mouth it's full bodied with structured tannin. Beautifully expressive flavors of both fresh plums and prunes, blackberries, pencil shavings, mocha and vanilla. It sees a bright uplift on the long lasting finish into almost a cherry candy and strawberry licorice like profile, with a smooth and silky mouthfeel.
Wow. WOW! Both of these Mavruds are GREAT! This one is $30 so it's seeing more scrutiny than the last but that doesn't even hurt it that much because it's pretty friggin awesome. You can buy it here: http://store.bulgarianwine.com/20edmielma.html
QUALITY VS PRICE RATING
Price: $30
The bottles used were supplied free of charge for the purpose of this review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.
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