Grape Guide
Mavrud
RedMavrud is a late-ripening black grape native to the Plovdiv area of southern Bulgaria, long regarded as the country's finest indigenous red alongside Melnik. It makes deeply coloured, tannic, high-acid wines that take oak well and develop tobacco and leather notes over five to ten years in the cellar.
Key Characteristics
- Very late ripening; harvest runs to mid-October around Plovdiv
- Small to medium berries with thick skins, in medium compact bunches
- Sensitive to winter cold and drought
- Susceptible to downy and powdery mildew but resistant to botrytis
- Parentage unknown; used to breed the Bulgarian crossings Buket and Evmolpia
Typical Flavors
Major Regions
Plovdiv province (Asenovgrad) · Thracian Valley PGI · Pazardzhik · Stara Zagora · Chirpan · Sakar and Eastern Rhodope foothills
Also Known As
Kachivela (Bulgaria) · Tsiganka (Bulgaria) · Mavroud (France) · Mavro (Greece · a name shared with unrelated varieties)
Overview
Mavrud is one of Bulgaria's two leading native red varieties, the other being Melnik (Shiroka Melnishka), and the one most closely tied to the warm Thracian plain around Plovdiv. Its wines are dark and tannic with firm, fresh acidity. Young examples show blackberry, mulberry, dark cherry and prune, often with a herbal edge and a slightly bitter, medicinal finish. Oak maturation softens the structure and adds spice, and with five to ten years of bottle age the fruit gives way to leather, tobacco and dried leaf. The variety is rarely planted outside Bulgaria and is overshadowed commercially by Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pamid. Most bottlings are dry reds, either varietal or blended with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon or the Bulgarian crossing Rubin. Its tannin and acidity suit slow-cooked lamb, grilled red meat, game and bean stews, and it is generally considered a little less long-lived than the best Melnik.
Origins & History
The name comes from the Greek word mavro, meaning black. Mavrud is thought to have originated around Asenovgrad in Plovdiv province, the area where it has traditionally been grown. That origin is supported by the unusual variation found there: growers distinguish large-berried, small-berried, flat-berried, grey-berried and coulure-prone forms of the variety. Its own parentage has not been established by DNA analysis. Some local growers have suggested that Mavrud is an old clone of Mourvèdre brought by the Romans, but no genetic evidence supports this. Several name-sharing varieties are also unrelated. Microsatellite studies of Bulgarian and Greek germplasm have shown that Greek Mavroudi Arachovis is not a synonym, and that Cyprus's Mavro matches Mavrud in name only. A 2020 comparison found Greek and Bulgarian material labelled Mavrud to be closely related but not identical at every marker, so they should not be treated as one variety. Bulgarian folklore ties the grape to Khan Krum, the ninth-century ruler who is said to have ordered vineyards uprooted; the story has a young man named Mavrud saving the city from a monster, after which the vineyards were replanted. It is a legend, not a record. Under the state-run wine industry of the socialist period, Mavrud was reportedly used in part as a base for white sparkling wine, and the variety was revived as a varietal red after the 1990s. Breeders in Bulgaria later used it as a parent in new crossings, including Buket and Evmolpia.
Viticultural Characteristics
Mavrud ripens very late after a long vegetative cycle, reaching full maturity around mid-October in the Plovdiv area, so it needs a long, warm, dry autumn. It performs best on deep alluvial and sandy loam soils in a warm continental climate. Vines are sensitive to cold winters and to drought, and the variety is susceptible to downy and powdery mildew, though it resists botrytis bunch rot. Bunches are medium-sized and fairly compact, with small to medium berries and thick skins. Vigour and productivity vary by selection and site, and overcropping dilutes colour and tannin. Two main clonal types are described: one with larger berries that gives lighter wines, and one with smaller, denser berries and thicker skins that ripens somewhat earlier and gives deeper wines.
Wine Styles & Characteristics
Most Mavrud is made as a dry red. The varietal wine is deeply coloured, with firm tannins and fresh acidity, and is frequently matured in oak; the better bottlings pick up leather, tobacco and dried herb character after several years. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Rubin are common blending partners, softening the tannins and adding fruit. Small quantities of rosé and blanc de noirs also appear. Sweet styles are rare: Manastirsko Shushukane, a semi-sweet wine from Mavrud, is produced by Assenovgrad Winery, while Santa Sarah, close to Pomorie on the Black Sea coast, has made an icewine from the grape. Bachkovo Monastery, which dates from 1083, makes a Mavrud with Georgian-style winemaking methods. Good dry examples come from Zagreus, Rumelia, Edoardo Miroglio, Terra Tangra, Todoroff and Assenovgrad Winery.