Pages: <<    1  2  (3)  4  5    >>

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          After an introduction to Zlatan Plenković's winery in Part 1 we will now continue with tasting notes on some of his wines.     But, what about the wines they have now? We tasted them and they are fantastic. We started with the 2006 Zavala, which is a strong white wine at 13% alcohol that we hadn't tasted before. It has a light fruit to the nose and carries a tad bit of citrus to it. Despite being 40% Pošip, it has a body that is more like Maraština, which is a much smaller part of the blend. Like any good wine, it gets more complex with more air, but retains the citrus tones out through the smooth finish.     We then moved to the Zlatan Plavac 2005 'regular'. This is the most basic version of their Plavac, although it is not the 'table wine' level and is still very much a 'high quality' wine as rated by Zagreb. When you first smell the nose, it almost has some dessert wine aromas to it and is dark and sweet. The body pulls up more smoothness with a touch of dryness that continues to hold the sweetish nose.     We finished out with their master creation, the Zlatan Plavac Grand Cru. It was the 2004 that we were given and the beauty of this wine is that it takes the regular Plavac and amplifies it by a factor of ten. It's almost hard to describe it beyond this except to say that is has wonderful berries to the body and that signature, smooth Plenković finish.     These wines were all stellar creations and from a man who started without the family background that so many other vintners have. Maybe it's this fresh start that freed him to try things differently, or maybe this would have been the case even if he was inheriting cellars born of 400 years of family history. If you ever find yourself in a position to try any of these wines, take advantage of it or buy them to enjoy today.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          An hour and a half by ferry from Split, the capital of Dalmatia, lies Hvar island. Called Pharos by the Greeks that occupied the island since the 4th century BC, Hvar is the longest of all Croatian islands, a narrow strip of land stretching for 42 miles. In the last few years it has become a popular touristic destination and is now famous for its lavender (of which we didn't actually see any), and its Plavac mali wines.     While not a household name in the United States, the wines of Zlatan Plenković have gotten extremely well known in wine circles and haven't stopped receiving international awards and recognition. Based in the little village of Sveta Nedelja on the Southeastern coast of the island, Zlatan Plenković's first release was just a few years ago in 1999 and he has only been producing since 1996. In that time, his wines have gotten to be in such high demand that they sell out of all their reds three months after bottling.     Zlatan Plenković is very unfortunately not in the best of health these days (although that isn't stopping him from enjoying life), his sons taking up the reigns of the business with great aplomb. We chatted with his younger son, Nikola who was a great host. He told us about some of the experimentation that they're doing in conjunction with the main Agronomical Institute in Zagreb where they are trying to grow Zinfandel, Primitivo, and Plavac Mali side by side in their vineyards. Why would they do this? Simply for the fact that these are grapes that are all closely related and in fact Zinfandel is the parent of the other two. So, they are curious to see how the grape will grow after a 150 year holiday in California. We were curious what they were going to do with the grapes after harvesting and testing and with a bit of prying, Nikola said that they would most likely bottle them, but he wasn't sure. So, as crazy as it sounds, there might be a Croatian Zinfandel and a Croatian Primitivo to buy at some point in the near future, although the release is most likely going to be so small that it will be hard to find anywhere.     Next, we talk about the wines of Zlatan Plenković's winery in Part 2 in our coverage of his winery.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Hercegovina Produkt is the rather forceful sounding name for a winery that started out as a family-run operation. In 2002 the Barbarić family took their 150 year-old tradition of making wine from being a small affair to being one of the bigger wine producers in the Herzegovina region. While it comes across as a very large company when you come up to the building from the road, there are only seven people running it. One of them is enologist Mirela Gudelj who was nice enough to take some extra time to show us around and give us a taste of their two main wines: Blatina and Žilavka.     We started with the 2006 Žilavka which was quite typical of the region. It had nice soft fruit on the nose and was very fresh. The body was similar and gave of a sense of fresh cut vegetables and fruits, pointing to it being good, paired with salads and other appetizers in a meal. There is also a touch of apricot and peach to the body, which leads in to something of a tannic finish on it.     The 2006 Blatina was a tasty bottle. There are these sweet stripes to the nose that get sandwiched between minty, dark aromas. The closest thing I could compare the nose to would be a Dingač, but obviously it is a much, much different wine. All of the sweetness to the nose drops off in the body and you get some good mineral tones to it. This then changes again in to something a bit more dry as it finished off, but then leads out in to a nice smoothness.     While these two wines are but a sample of the greater product line of Herzegovina Produkt, they stand out as good wines produced on a large scale.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Vitai is the company name for the brand of wine in Bosnia Herzegovina that most people know as Gangaš. It is a very different winery in the region for several reasons. The first being that it is run by three women: Olivera Juricić and her daughters, Sanja and Anđa. This is unheard of in this area because men are the wine makers and that is the end of the discussion. Women may be the enologists for a large company, but men make the wine.     Obviously it was not always the case that women ended up making the wine in this company, and it was the untimely passing of Sanja and Anđa's father that brought this about. But, instead of folding or selling to another winery as was often the case in the past, they took up the reigns and have become one of the biggest family-owned wineries in Herzegovina producing 75,000 liters last year and having a capacity of 150,000 liters. Not bad for a place that really started in earnest, in 1995 and was built out of a small, 150 year old cellar.     Another reason why they are unique is because in addition to the regional standards of Žilavka and Blatina, they are also trying to make a bit of rosé and champagne.     We tasted both their 2006 and 2004 Žilavka. The 2006 is still a bit young, but you can't taste it. There is some oak to it from the Slavonian barrels that they use, but overall it is very mellow. There is a strong dose of citrus to the nose as well as some green apple. The body is smooth and doesn't betray the rather high alcohol (for this area) of 13%. The 2004 is much more oaky, which is natural given the amount of time in the barrel. It is quite a bit heavier than the 2006 and has hints of the herbs that are used in travarica, a high-octane popular Croatian spirit. The very palpable meatiness to the body gives way just a little bit in to the finish. Trying to decide which of these years is better is impossible though as they are both quite good, albeit nearly completely different wines.     While we didn't get to the rosé, we did try the 2005 Blatina. It is good, but also very young. There is a good deal of tannic strength to the body, but the nose has good fruits. More air doesn't really change it all that much, but it will be interesting to see how it progresses with more time in the barrel.     It will also be interesting to see how this winery will progress. Sanja has been studying at the enology institute in Zagreb and is well versed in the craft of wine. These women are doing a great job with their wine and only time will tell how the wine will mix with local patriarchal ways. We hope it will somehow mix well and we will definitely pay them another visit in the future.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Čitluk is a smallish town in Herzegovina that has a surprising number of wineries in it. The biggest one is naturally the one that was the former collective for the area under Communism called, Vinarija Čitluk. While the name and the drab building aren't the most exciting things in the world, they do produce a good number of wines of good quality. This is no small feat considering that they buy grapes from a massive area of 400 hectares in Herzegovina. They first fired up the barrels in 1960 and currently have 85 employees and a capacity of 11 million liters, although they produced a "mere" five million in 2006.     Tihomir Prusina led us through a tasting of a few of their wines, starting with the 2005 Blatina. It had good fruit in the nose, but was rather light overall. The body was very dry and had a bit of sharpness to it. This did clear out though in the finish as well as with a bit more air in it.     We also had the 2005 Blatina Barrique, which apparently spends a minimum of a year in the bottle before they sell it. This does seem to make a difference, as it is quite a good wine. There are a lot of deep berries and sweet aromas to the nose. A hint of mint, spice, as well as the oak of the barrels comes out in the nose as well. This then transfers in to a deep, meaty body that is great on the palate. There is buttery smoothness to the finish that lets out something of a blue cheese flavor and is very, very tasty.     While Vinarija Čitluk produces a great number of other wines and spirits, we only got to taste these two. They pointed to a good level of quality in the wines, which many of these former collectives don't usually have and we appreciated that a good deal.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Our first stop along the Vinska Cesta of Herzegovina was at Podrumi Andrija. Like most wine makers in the area, the family has a tradition of wine that formed the foundation of the company. They were a bit different, though, as they actually started making wine to sell in 1971, which was not allowed under the Communist government. Apparently, family and friends worked to hide their wine making operation. Proving that they were a crafty group, they were able to continue growing during the war with their wine being routed through other countries with some fantastic scheme that we think we were better off not knowing about.     But now, in the 21st century, the winery is a full-fledged operation, producing from four hectares of their own and buying from 400 other people who grow on an additional 80 hectares. This allows them to have a well-appointed tasting room where they treated us to an extensitve tasting of their wines as well as some locally made pršut (smoked ham), which we always accept gladly.     We started with the 2004 Žilavka. It is a light white wine at 12% alcohol. There are mineral tones to the nose and body and a slight grapefruit to it as well. Citrus flavors come out in the body as it opens up and these continue in to the finish.     From there, we moved in to the 2005 Blatina. This was a very nice sample of this local varietal. There were cherries and berries in the nose and a tad bit of syrupy fruit to it. It wasn't sweet though and gave a nice, pleasing balance of aromas. The body presented much more earthy flavors that presented the wine as bold and enjoyable. The finish was clean and overall, it was a solid wine.     To close, we had the 2004 Blatina Barrique. The nose had both mineral and earthy notes to it as well as being fresh and dewy. All of this we liked a great deal. The best part was that all these aromas carried directly in to the body, which made for great drinking. There was a little spark to the finish that sticks with you and makes the wine a real winner and as it gets more air, it gets more complex, presenting some sour cherry in the finish.     Andrija was a great start to the Vinska Cesta that made us happy and very excited to move on and taste more.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Herzegovina, the Southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is the land of sun and stone and because of this it is the biggest and single wine producing region in the country. The majority of the wines produced in Herzegovina are made with the autochtonous varieties of Žilavka (white) and Blatina (red).     B&H has a long tradition of wine growing and production from the Illyrian period. However, the wine growing region in B&H was historically much bigger than it is today, but with the Ottoman rule this type of production was gradually extinguished due to many successive wars, because grapevines require a high degree of maintenance and even a month away from them can be catastrophic. Currently, the production of wine is limited to the confluences of the rivers Neretva and Trebišnjica.     Because of the long wine-growing history in Herzegovina, and the quality and abundance of its wineries, last year the European Union decided to fund a project of the association of vintners of the region called Vinska Cesta (Wine Route) to promote Herzegovina wines. About four few months ago, the Tourism Association of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, used this grant to create a website of the Wine Route and published a very useful map showing the location of all the wineries in the area. They also have additional informative brochures about them (such as a catalog of wines produced by each of them and a calendar of wine-related events). Moreover, a multitude of signs were put up recently along the roads of Herzegovina to make it easy for visitors to find each single winery, even in the smallest villages. We were truly impressed. The Wine Route warrants a trip by anyone who is a true wine connoisseur because the wines ranged ranged from quite drinkable to outstandingly well-crafted.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Rubin is an interesting case of a former Communist cooperative that went private. One reason that it stuck out to us, was that it took an incredibly long time to privatize. Where most wine cooperatives were transferred to private hands during the 1990's, Rubin only went private two years ago. Secondly, it's more massive than any former cooperative we had encountered before. They produce five million bottles of liquor each year, three million of which are wine. They buy wine grapes from all over the region, including neighboring Macedonia. Lastly, they have vineyards in Kosovo of all places.     All of these points make the company sound like any large-scale producer in America and thusly, our expectations were low; very low. We found it amazing that even though Rubin produces at such a large scale, their wines, especially the Terra Lazarica line are more than just drinkable and are even quite noteworthy.     We tasted the 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc that we found to have some good fruit aromas to the body and the nose. It was easy to drink and had a balanced body that led in to a smooth finish. It was quite good, but nothing to rave about. The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon was quite exciting though. It had a nice flowery nose that was also very clean and fresh, something akin to the nose of a good French Bordeaux. The body wasn't as deep as the nose though, but had a general sophistication that carried several textures through it, including a nice earthiness. The finish was smooth, although it brought out the dryness to the wine, which if it were the drinker's preference, would make the wine even more desirable.     The best part about all these wines is that they can be found at any supermarket in Serbia for around $7, making them a good alternative to the ever-present Jelen beer.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Another winery that we sampled at the Novi Sad Wine Fair was Aleksandrović. He is located in Vinća, Topela in Serbia and like most wine producers in the region, his family had a long tradition of wine making that stopped and didn't really start again until Communism ended and he could produce for more people than just his immediate family. Since they started up again in 1991, they have managed to build their winery up to producing 200,000 to 300,000 liters a year from the 20 hectares that they own as well as from a supply of grapes from others in the area who augment their estate grapes.     While they make a great number of wines including a Rosé and a Pinot Noir, it was only the whites that we tasted. We started a tad bit skeptical of these whites from Serbia, but were quickly impressed due to the wonderful craft that has gone in to these wines.     The 2006 Riesling weighed in at 13.2% alcohol and was a blend of Rhine and Italian varietals. It was very nice being smooth, clean, and light throughout the nose, body, and finish. Additionally, it had wonderfully balanced fruit aromas and flavors that were neither too strong nor too soft.     The 2006 Chardonnay was a nice change from the normal California Chards. It packs a bit of a punch for a white, at 14% alcohol and has an okay nose, but it is much, much lighter than a normal CA Chard. It has more fruit and evenness to it. The body is not oaky or buttery, which made it good to know that you can make a Chardonnay that isn't stuck in one of these categories. All of this was just $12 a bottle, which even made it cheaper that the vast majority of Chardonnays that we've been used to.     The triumphant and best of these whites was naturally called the Trijumf. This was the 2006 vintage that we tasted and it was just outstanding. It has a lovely floral nose that is clean and elegant. Everything about it oozes with a sparkling brightness from nose to finish. This wine is just full of classiness and at $15 a bottle; it's a classiness that most anyone can afford.     While we didn't get to try any of the reds, if they're even half as good as these whites, then Aleksandrović is a name that everyone will soon know well in wine circles.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Bermet is a sweet wine that is a specialty of northern Serbia's Fruška Gora wine region, in the Vojvodina province. It has between 16 and 18% of alcohol and it is usually served as a dessert wine, with coffee and cookies, but can also be served as an aperitif, much like Italian Vermouth. However, Bermet is produced in a different way than Vermouth, through maceration of 20 different herbs and spices. It can be made of red or white grapes, but the exact recipe is secret and held by only a handful of families in the town of Sremci Karlovci. Dulka winery, for example, told us that he makes the base of his white Bermet are župljanka grapes, a local variety, and Merlot for his red. Other vintners seem to use Portugieser, and others blend both red and white grapes.     As the story goes, Bermet was very popular among the aristocracy of the Austro-Hungarian empire and was regularly exported to the court in Vienna in large quantities. Moreover, according to some documents, a few Bermets were even included in the Titanic's wine card, and it was exported to the United States over 150 years ago.     As for Bermet's taste, it is sweet, but not overly so. It is a very thick, heavy wine that carries a lot of punch, so to compare it to Prošek, Tokaj, or Garnatxa would be a serious mistake.The body changes even more and is very nutty with chestnut tones to it. Then the finish opens up like how you would expect from a dessert wine with lovely sweetness that stays with you, yet there is a bit more complexity to it than that with some sharp sour cherry notes coming through just before it ends.

Pages: <<    1  2  (3)  4  5    >>