2025 Zagreus "Pamid & More"

Dimitar Kostadinov is a 3rd generation winemaker working in Bulgaria's Thracian Valley. Kostadinov's background is in mechatronics, which may at first seem incongruent with natural wine. The central point of Zagreus is the crossroads of science and philosophy, the experimental and the natural. The focal variety is mavrud, whose Thracian provenance (1500 BC) and perseverance through modern war and industrialization is a marvel in itself. Working land purchased by his father in 1998 and employing the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, among others, Kostadinov brings new light and energy to this sleepy corner of the former Eastern Bloc. While his mavrud wines are redolent of damp earth and the transition from fall to winter, "Pamid & More" offers a lighter vibration. Composed mainly of indigenous grape pamid with some merlot to round things out, this is a fresh, amply fruited wine that's comparable to a Beaujolais-Villages or Pinot Noir. In fact, this might be your new favorite light red. Serve slightly chilled, maybe with something summery like grilled chicken or sausage with potato salad.

• Certified organic vineyards, dry farmed • Handpicked, hand sorted • Pamid fermented in open oak barrels with natural yeast, merlot fermented in SS with wild yeast • Daily batonnage for 1 mo • Unfined • Coarse filtration before bottling • Sulphur added at bottling, 78mg/L total • 11.95% Alc