Croatian Tasting for Wine Bloggers with Blue Danube's Frank Dietrich
Marcy Gordon's home, Sebastopol, California
Tasted Sunday, August 28, 2011 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 1,936 views
Introduction
Marcy Gordon and Fred Swan
Frank Dietrich of Blue Danube introduced me to an assortment of Plavac Malis from Croatia earlier this year in a tasting I reported on here. Frank got together with a group of us winebloggers recently to share more fascinating wines from Croatia. Marcy Gordon and her husband hosted, and the guests were a who’s who of Northern California winebloggers. Frank was generous as usual in sharing wine and information about the region and its winemakers with us.
Amongst the whites, I was most impressed by the ’09 Coronica Malvazia from Itra, which is a good value at $20, and a terrific wine for pairing with vegetable dishes and salads. And it was great to compare Pošips, the great indigneous white variety that is mostly grown on the island of Korčula, where it is said to have originated, as the result of a crossing of two other indigenous varieties. Typically this grape is fermented in stainless steel tanks, which helps to preserve its vibrant acidity and minerality. About 20% of Pošip production, however, sees fermentation either in steel or oak barrels, combined with sur lie aging in oak. The acidity is retained, but creamy, buttery texture is added, and it can pick up the toasty aromas from the barrel. I believe the Grgić example we had was raised in oak; it was certainly in a more international and less acidic style than the other two Pošips. I also enjoyed the very interesting blend of a couple of indigenous varieties with Riesling, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc, by Ivan Enjingi. That would be another great wine to pair with spicy green vegetable dishes and Indian food.
On the red side, we got to try a rare bottling of Crljenak Kaštelanski–the grape indigenous to Croatia but nearly extinct there that was found to be identical to California’s Zinfandel, and which is now being planted again. The bottle we tried, from Zlatan Plenkovic, is one of the first bottlings of this newly replanted grape to appear. I tried the very first vintage of this wine, the 2007, when I first met Frank, and I like the 2008 version even better. We also had a Teran–the high acid variety indigenous to Istria, which had been thought to be the same as Italian Refosco, but which is now known to be genetically distinct, and more Plavac Malis. Plavac Mali is indigenous to central and southern Dalmatia, and, as explained in my prior post, is the scion of Crljenak Kaštelanski and another indignenous variety, Dobričić.
For more detail on some of the producers, and my tasting notes, see below.
Flight 1 - Whites (5 Notes)
Moreno Coronica is the vigneron-owner of Coronica, and he has devoted himself to this very complex and tasty dry version of Malvazia. Frank informed us that Moreno is one of Istria’s top producers, and based on this excellent white, I believe it. Most of us at the tasting were quite taken by the Krajančić Intrada, which was not only very aromatic, but minerally and chalky. The owner/winemaker is Luka Krajančić who specializes in Pošip. I also quite like the Grgić Pošip, more than some others in our group did, I think, although it is made in a very different style from the Krajančić.
Blue Danube doesn’t represent the Grgić wines, made by Napa’s Mike Grgich since he returned to his native country in the mid-’90s to start a new winery there focused on Pošip and Plavac Mali. To make sure we got to try and compare them, though, Frank made a trip to Palo Alto’s Lavanda Restaurant to pick up a couple of bottles, since they’re on the wine list there. Thank you Frank! Finally our intriguing blend was made by Ivan Enjingi, working in a family tradition that goes back 120 years. Ivan was the first private winemaker in Croatia after Croatia became independent of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. The grapes come from the family’s 50 hectares of vineyards in the Kutjevo appellation.
Flight 2 - Rosé (1 Note)
The Korta Katarina winery was founded on the Dalmatian Coast by a couple of Texans, Lee and Penny Anderson, who fell in love with the area after trips there where they were involved in rebuilding efforts after the war for independence. Their rosé is an unusual blend of Plavac Mali and Zinfandel, with very intriguing, savory flavors. The Korta Katarina wines are made in a modern style, and the only oak used is French, which is unusual for Croatia, where Slavonian oak is much more the norm.
Flight 3 - Reds (7 Notes)
Our Teran, which was a typically high acid version, with tart berry and black fruit, was made by Roberto Terzolo. It would be great with roasted meats or glazed pork. Our blend, the Bibich $6 Riserva, is a good value at $18. This winery was founded by then-22-year-old Alen Bibić in 1995, after the Yugoslav wars. He had learned winemaking from his grandfather. He sources his grapes both from his own organically grown vineyards and from his neighbors. Unusually, this wine is aged in American oak.
My favorite of our Plavac Malis was the Korta Katarina and the Grgić, which were both quite good. Also good was the Bura-Mrgudić, made by Nicola Bura and his sister Marija (Mare) Mrgudić on Dalmatia’s Peljesac Peninsula. From all three of these examples, I can see why Plavac Mali is known as the king of red wines in Croatia. It’s a grape with serious tannins and structure that can be very complex in flavors, and is clearly ageworthy. I would love to try more examples with some age on them.
Closing
Eva, Fred and Amy
2009 Coronica Malvazija Istarska 91 Points
Croatia, Istria and Kvarner, Istra, Zapadna Istra
Light green-tinged yellow color; intriguing, tart green fruit, tart citrus, grapefruit rind, minerally nose; tasty, crisp, complex, mineral, tart citrus palate; medium-plus finish 91+ points (good value at $20; would be great with salads and vegetable dishes)
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2008 Korta Katarina Pošip Čara 88 Points
Croatia, Dalmatia, Srednja i južna Dalmacija, Korčula
Light medium lemon yellow color; intense, grapefruit rind, lemon rind, mineral, slightly smoky nose; tart lemon rind, light citrus, mineral palate with medium acidity; medium-plus finish 88+ points
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2009 Krajančić Pošip Intrada 90 Points
Croatia, Dalmatia, Srednja i južna Dalmacija, Korčula
Light butter yellow color; aromatic, lifted, tart apple, mineral, tart pear, citrus nose; tangy, tart green apple, mineral, tart citrus, chalk palate; medium-plus finish 90+ points
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2009 Grgić Vina Pošip 90 Points
Croatia, Dalmatia, Srednja i južna Dalmacija, Korčula
Light yellow color; nice, floral, tart pear, chalk, intriguing green herb nose; tasty, very lightly oily textured, tangy, green pear, mineral; more International in style than other Pošips I've tried; medium-plus finish 90+ points
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2003 Ivan Enjingi Venje 90 Points
Croatia, Slavonia & Danube, Slavonija
Light-medium green-tinged yellow color; appealing, ripe green fruit, lime cream, sweet green herb, mineral nose; sweet green herb, green fruit cream, chalk palate; medium-plus finish (would be a fun pairing with green vegetable dishes, Padron chilies, Indian food; blend of blend of Graševina, Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, and Traminac; made in favorable years and matured in barrique)
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