Sasa Spiranec & his Vinart team are leading the Croatian wine scene ahead. They are taking it long way ahead.
Three days well spent at the fourth edition of Vinart Grand Tasting held 01st-2nd March at the Lauba gallery in Zagreb with more than 129 exhibitors- 95% from Croatia and the rest very important wineries from Europe attended by more than 2500 visitors during the two days & twice as more business visitors & journalists than in 2018. It was an excellent occasion to go through the Croatian wine scene once again or, of course, taste something entirely different from the rest of Europe.
These kind of events are the place where one gets a good sniff & sip of the local wine scene and taking in consideration the size & diversity in local grape varieties, many different & rich terroirs that Croatia has to offer, not to forget the excellent Croatian winemakers, it’s haven for people looking for a good sip & the ones like yours truly looking for a surprise for their palate.
And I have found the latter in the Krajancic Jezina Poship 2018 fermented with indigenous yeasts; Ante Sladic Vino & his Marashtina 2017 (grapefruit aromas, spicy, mineral); Kozlovic & their Malvazija 2017 (fresh, mineral, lovely), Malvazia Istarska Selekcija 2016 (spicy, full-bodied wine) & very aromatic, perfume like Mushkat Momjanski 2018; Ivancic & his Grifin Zero NV; Clai’s Ottocento White 2015; Plavac Mali St. Roko 2016 from Saints’s Hills winery, Matosevic’s Alba Malvasia 2018 (citrusy, peppery & almond finish) & his Grimalda White 2016; Bire’s fresh, mineral, salty Grk 2018 & their lovely & spicy Amfora Grk 2016 but above all their amazing, elegant, full-bodied Plavac Mali 2016; Bruno Trapan’s Ponente Malvisia 2017, his Istraditional Malvasia Istriana 2015 fermented with indigenous yeasts, his Nigra Virgo Revolution 2015 & his Terra Madre Teran 2016 (still young but with lots of potential); Krauthaker’s playful & fresh Grasevina 2018.
To see Jo Ahearne MW is always a pleasure & to taste her wines even a greater one- her Rose Rosina 2018 with lots of crunchy red fruit, Wild Skins 2017 a blend of Bogdanusa & Poship macerated for 340 days & her elegant & boisterous Plavac Mali South Side 2014. One of the best Chardonnays I’ve ever tasted comes from Croatia from Provic Winery, CH2017 with that gripping acidity & saltiness & their Naron 2016 Chardonnay; Rizman’s Poship 2018 (fresh with a lovely grapefruit skins finish) & very elegant Primus Plavac Mali 2015 that is going to profit even more from ageing; Ilocki Podrumi & their well know Traminac Principovac 2015; Kabola’s Rosa 2018 & Malvazija Amfora 2015; Benvenuti’s Malvazija 2017 (citrusy with a gripping acidity); & Anno Domini Malvazija 2016; . And so many more wineries I did not have a chance to visit & taste their wines like Degrassi, Tomac, Korta Katarina,…
It’s more than obvious that the Croatian winemaking industry is aligned with the modern world wine trends & the Croatian winemakers have been focusing on using indigenous yeasts and less intervention in the cellar although the oak is still widely used but much more smartly.
One of the pleasant surprises was to see Toro Albala, Montilla Moriles Spain & taste their Don PX Convento Selecion 1973, 1968 & 1955 as well as Electrico Fino NV. Edi Simcic from Slovenia & his Rebula 2016, Sauvignon Blanc 2015 & my favourite Duet Lex 2015, an elegant wine, blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Cabernet Franc. This year, Tikves was the only Macedonian winery that presented their wines at the event.
The Pop-up Wine Shop at the Grand Tasting in Lauba was just what a genuine winelover would need, to pick their favourites after a day of tasting & it is no wonder that more than 1000 bottles were sold during the two days of the wine salon.
Master classes preceded the Grand Tasting event and were held 22-23 Feb & 27-28 Feb at the Double Tree by Hilton hotel in Zagreb. Quite a variety of themes to be heard & wines to be tasted as these master classes were attended by more than 1000 peope.
22 Feb 2019 brought us “White Burgundy” by Željko Bročilović Carlos, “Cattunar 4 Terre- One terroir, four types of soil, four Malvasia, one hand” Franco Cattunar and Igor Palčić, “Babic- The New Era” by Martina Miličević, “Rizman Primus Vertical Tasting & St. Michael Premiere” by Nenad Trifunović& Meneghetti, ” Vertical tasting of an Istrian Icon” by Walter Filiputti .
The following day, “Mythos Burgundy” by Carlos, “Maraština – is the most common white wine of Dalmatia new “Graševina” or something completely different?” by Nenad Trifunović, “The Korak revolution – Plešivica terroir in it’s most sincere form” Velimir and Josip Korak, “The Wine Tango” by Jasna Antunović, “Radovan – Istrian Grand Cru for Red Bordeaux”, “Tomić – vertical tasting of the leading Plavac mali from Hvar”, “Premium Gin Masterclass” by Marin Nekić & Filip Savić, “New Dimensions of Škrlet from Voštinić Klasnić winery” by Mario Meštrović, “Riesling masterclass” by Ivo Kozarčanin, “Feravino Grasecco, Croatian response to Prosecco” by Siniša Lasan, “Zind Humbrecht -Parallel Tasting” by Mario Meštrović, Pinot noir masterclass by Matjaž Lemut, “Rhone wine Region masterclass” by Jo Ahearne, “Coronica – Great Red Wines from the Great Master Moreno Coronica”.
A new concept workshop/ wine tasting was introduced called “Vinart Petite Tasting: New Europe Terroirs” where rare & upcoming wines from countries such as Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Poland & Bulgaria were presented. From Macedonia the wines from Tikves, Domaine Lepovo, Chateau Kamnik, Stobi, Skovin & Bovin
were presented.
Having been in the company of great friends & colleagues, Spiranec organized a private wine tasting of Plavac Mali wines & we went as far as 1994. My personal picks were Jako Vino Stina Plavac Mali Majstor 2015, Saint’s Hills St. Roko 2016, Korta Katerina Plavac Mali 2012 & of course PZ(Badel) Dingac 1994 & PZ (Badel) Postup 1994 . However, I will dwell on this wine tasting in a different post, a lengthy one…