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Visiting Roxanich winery

Istria, Croatia

Tasted July 12, 2014 by NiklasW with 623 views

Introduction

We visited the winery after calling them for an appointment. Our host was intimately knowledgable about the wines and was very friendly throughout the tasting. We went through the entire line up and were given some cheese, bread and prsut to go with the wines. Roxanich is a relatively young winery, but dedicated to making high quality wines. They are taking some risks by aging their wines considerably in barrels, vats, steel tanks and in the bottle before releasing them to the market. The vintages we tasted are the most recent releases, some from 2008 we even tasted from the barrel!

Flight 1 - A rosé and the whites (8 notes)

The whites Antica, Milva and Ines u bijelom are fermented on the skins for a long time (up to three months) resulting in very dark yellow, amber wines. They are built to age well.

Rosé

2012 Roxanich Rožica Croatia, Istria and Kvarner, Istra, Zapadna Istra

Tasted at the winery. This was a rather full-bodied rosé, red cherries with a hint of lavender. The palate was quite austere, quite quaffable, but needs food to go with.

Comment

White

2012 Roxanich Malvazijica Croatia, Istria and Kvarner, Istra, Zapadna Istra

Tasted at the winery. Made from the signature Malvazija grape in a very natural way, with its own yeast, in steel tanks. A nice refreshing peachey wine with good acidity and a bit of pear. Very pleasant. Got a bottle to try out later.

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Orange

2009 Roxanich Malvazija Istarska Antica Croatia, Istria and Kvarner, Istra, Zapadna Istra

Tasted at the winery. This vintage about to be released for the market. Vinified in large vats, starting from 7000 liters and decanted to smaller vats to ca 3000 liters over several years. A complex wine with bee's wax and honey on the nose, but super dry on the palate. A wine that could age significantly.

Comment

Orange

2008 Roxanich Malvazija Istarska Antica Croatia, Istria and Kvarner, Istra, Zapadna Istra

Tasted at the winery after the 2009 vintage. This was different, honeyed, but a bit reductive, still very interesting and complex, fullsome on the palate and really dry, almost tanniny.

Comment

Orange

2007 Roxanich Malvazija Istarska Antica Croatia, Istria and Kvarner, Istra, Zapadna Istra

Tasted at the winery after the 2009 and 2008 vintages. The nose was shy on this one, but the palate was really great, with honeyed and waxy tastes, very interesting and complex.

Comment

Orange

2009 Roxanich Chardonnay Milva Croatia, Istria and Kvarner, Istra, Zapadna Istra

Tasted at the winery. Recently bottled, due out to the market later this year. Well, this is a different Chardonnay! As with the Malvazija, it is allowed to sit in large wooden vats for long periods of time. The colour is quite dark amber and on the nose we have clear ripe apricots, on the palate good acidity, austere stone fruits, very dry and very good!

Comment

Orange

2008 Roxanich Chardonnay Milva Croatia, Istria and Kvarner, Istra, Zapadna Istra

Tasted at the winery after the 2009 vintage. This had a fuller aspect to it, deep stone fruits, very tasty. Got a bottle to try later on.

Comment

Orange

2009 Roxanich Ines u bijelom Croatia, Istria and Kvarner, Istra, Zapadna Istra

Tasted at the winery. A blend of many varieties, making for a very complex wine, with a somewhat perfumey aroma, lots of fruit, but quite austere on the palate, full bodied but almost tanniny at the same time. Very interesting and got a bottle.

Comment

Flight 2 - The reds. (7 notes)

Most of the reds are aged extensively at the winery before releasing. 2008 is the current release.

Red

2011 Roxanich Porco Rosso Croatia, Istria and Kvarner, Istra, Zapadna Istra

Tasted at the winery. A nice light, easy wine, fruity and basic. Good for a lunch on a hot day served slightly chilled, I think.

Comment

Red

2008 Roxanich Ines u crvenom Croatia, Istria and Kvarner, Istra, Zapadna Istra

Tasted at the winery from the barrel. Very good fruit, cassis, nice tannins, even a touch of barnyard. Quite enjoyable. Should be bottled later this year.

Comment

Red

2008 Roxanich Pinot Noir Croatia, Istria and Kvarner, Istra, Zapadna Istra

Tasted at the winery from the barrel. Another new wine which has not been bottled yet. A very nice elegant PN, with beetroot and cherries and some barnyardy notes. Very nice!

Comment

Red

2008 Roxanich Super Istrian Cuvée Croatia, Istria and Kvarner, Istra, Zapadna Istra

Tasted at the winery. Oh this was fantastic! Lots of goodness here, cassis with a touch of orange peel, complex, delicious with good tannins. Got a bottle and it will go into the cellar for some years.

Comment

Red

2008 Roxanich Cabernet Sauvignon Croatia, Istria and Kvarner, Istra, Zapadna Istra

Tasted at the winery. A very nice Cabernet Sauvignon, good fruit, good tannins, but rather anonymous in my opinion. Definitely European style though, comparable to a good Bordeaux.

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Red

2007 Roxanich Merlot Croatia, Istria and Kvarner, Istra, Zapadna Istra

Tasted at the winery. Quite a bit fruitier than the Cab Sauv, but still very elegant cassis, feels young and could take some more age on it. Very nice!

Comment

Red

2007 Roxanich Teran Ré Croatia, Istria and Kvarner, Istra, Zapadna Istra

Tasted at the winery, from a magnum. Oh this was again an excellent wine, meaty with good fruit, cassis, on the palate lots of tannins and a wonderful sweetness that makes the wine very full-bodied and a pleasure to taste.

Comment

Closing

It was a very enjoyable tasting and we got to see the cellar a bit as well. The wines are superb, this is a winery to look out for!

Visiting Roxanich winery

Istria, Croatia

Introduction

Flight 1 - A rosé and the whites (8 notes)

Flight 2 - The reds. (7 notes)

Closing

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