Mavrud
Bulgaria · Red · Available (A)
The national flagship. Thracian Lowlands, concentrated around Asenovgrad and Plovdiv. Very late ripening — often picked into late October — with small, thick-skinned berries. Gives deep colour, firm and sometimes rustic tannin, moderate-to-high acidity, and flavours of blackberry, plum, bay leaf and cured meat. Rewards oak and needs 5+ years; good examples hold 15. Plantings are small, only a few percent of the national total. Widely exported.