{"id":815,"date":"2016-09-08T21:07:34","date_gmt":"2016-09-08T20:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=815"},"modified":"2016-09-11T16:12:59","modified_gmt":"2016-09-11T15:12:59","slug":"imotski-wine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/imotski-wine\/","title":{"rendered":"Imotski wine, \u0160imunovi\u0107 & Grabovac, Croatia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 2 of\u00a0the AdVintage 2016 wine tour<\/a> saw us in Imotski, a small town east from Split,\u00a0only a couple of kilometers from the border with Bosnia & Herzegovina.
\nAs a tourist destination it is famous for its Blue and Red Lakes<\/a> (Modro & Crveno jezero) which we briefly stopped to look at….<\/p>\n

\"Blue<\/a>

Blue Lake<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Red<\/a>

Red Lake<\/p><\/div>\n

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 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\n…but we were here for the wine, and 2 wineries were lined up for the day.<\/p>\n

Imostski is part of the Dalmatian Interior (Dalmatinska Zagora) wine region,\u00a0sandwiched between the Adriatic and the Dinaric Alps. The town and some\u00a0of its vineyards are on slopes, with an expansive and very flat valley floor below where more vineyards grow. It’s local varieties include\u00a0Kujun\u0111u\u0161a, Zlatarica, Medna and Mara\u0161tina but the region is also planted with more recognisable international varieties\u00a0which we were to taste.<\/p>\n

The area gets a high diurnal temperature variation in the growing season,\u00a015C at night to 32C during the day.<\/p>\n

\"guitar-seranade\"<\/a>First was\u00a0Podrumi \u0160imunovi\u0107<\/a>, where the group was welcomed with shots of flavoured Grappa and a guitar-wielding singer who turned out to be the life-long friend of the owner and winemaker.\u00a0 The wines were presented by\u00a0the lovely Ela who told that the winery has been running approximately 50 years and now produces 30,000 bottles a year using a mix of Croatian and international varieties, all blends.
\nThey have been running tourist tastings for the last 2 years and we were in their new tasting room, providing cool relief from the intense heat outside (>30C).<\/p>\n

The first wine tried was the 2015\u00a0Kujund\u017eu\u0161a White, 12%.
\nKujund\u017eu\u0161a\u00a0is a high-yielding variety that\u00a0used to make up 80% of all plantings in the Imotski valley.
\n\"simunovic-whites\"<\/a>This example gave a creamy, herbal nose and was clean and fresh on the palate with good weight and delicate floral flavours.
\nA creamy yet mineral wine\u00a0with a dry finish, very pleasant.<\/p>\n

Next up was the 2015 “Bili Vuk”, a Chardonnay & \u017dilavka blend at 12.5%.
\n\u017dilavka is a grape planted primarily in the Mostar region of southern Bosnia and Herzegovina.
\nThere was pronounced\u00a0tropical\/Passion fruit on the nose, maybe a touch of mango. Ripe fruit on the approach moved into bracing acidity for the\u00a0mid-palate, and a touch of bitterness on the dry finish. It was a full, ripe wine with a light sweetness \u2013 balanced and pleasant.<\/p>\n

Then there was the very international Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon Ros\u00e9 at 12.5%. It had a light nose of strawberry jam with a lean, \"simunovic-reds\"<\/a>almost bitter palate and a spicy finish.
\nThe fruit came across as a touch unripe and more of a drink to have with food than on its own.<\/p>\n

Finally to the red, with the 2014 “Crni Simon” also at 12.5% alcohol. This was a blend of Vranac and Trnjak with a little Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.\u00a0Trnjak is another Imotski\/Bosnian grape, thick skinned and late-ripening, while Vranac (Vranec) is closely related to Crljenak (Zinfandel), native to Montenegro and Macedonia but widespread across the Balkans.
\nThe wine had spent\u00a06-12 months in oak and showed some leather and violets on the nose with a touch of sweet liquorice. It had a smooth, fruity approach going into a very dry finish, but was a bit too lean and green; tart acidity behind the tannins but little primary fruit, suggesting the grapes may have been picked too early.
\nIn summary, the nose was to die for, but the taste disappointed.<\/p>\n

\"grabovac-external\"<\/a>We then re-boarded the coach and made the short hop along the valley to the\u00a0Grabovac winery<\/a>\u00a0where we had\u00a0lunch to accompany the tasting.<\/p>\n

The Grabovac family\u00a0consists of father Ante, brothers Nikola and Milan, and cousin Mislav Marsic. It was Milan who showed us around the winery and presented the wines during the tasting. He said his brother had\u00a0trained in Bordeaux and\u00a0Giesenheim (Germany) with work experience in New Zealand<\/p>\n

The modern commercial winery was\u00a0established in 1994, but Grabovac family winemaking dates back to approx 1812. It was the first Dalmatian winery to produce a traditonal method sparkling wine and the first to plant Pinot Gris.
\nThey have 15 hectares (ha) of vinetards, 8ha on the stony slopes up to 450m and 7ha on the more fertile valley floor.
\nThese are planted to local varieties including\u00a0Kujund\u017eu\u0161a, Po\u0161ip, \u017dilavka, Trnjak and Vranac, \u00a0and international varieties such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvingon, with Pinot Gris used only in\u00a0sparkling production.
\nThere is no vineyard irrigation (by choice) and Milan compared the valley soils to Bordeaux’s Pomerol, especially good for Merlot.<\/p>\n

As well as a delicious lunch we had a quick cellar visit\u00a0down a\u00a0spiral staircase into a tank and barrel room plus dozens of sparkling bottles ready for disgorgement. 90% of their barrels are from Slavonia (northern Croatia) the rest American. 1\/3 new oak in\u00a0total across the range.<\/p>\n

\"grabovac-barrel-room\"<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0\"grabovac-barrels\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The wines;<\/p>\n

Po\u0161ip \u017dilavka 2015 white. Po\u0161ip is an aromatic variety known for its\u00a0refreshing acidity and citrus aspects, it is also one of the the main\u00a0grapes used for drying to make the local pro\u0161ek dessert\u00a0wine (which we tried elsewhere…delicious!!).
\nThe wine was a 50\/50 blend at 12% and had a grassy nose, slightly reductive with a touch of mint. The approach was light with a citrus tang then dry from the mid-palate, but just a little too thin and simple to really excite.<\/p>\n

Then to the 2015 Sauvignon Blanc at 12.5%. This was a blend of valley and hillside fruit where a\u00a0New Zealand influence could be tasted. It had Sauvignon typicity; grassy, herbal, ripe and pungent. Also a light approach but\u00a0with very strong citrus sharp acidity on the palate, tart and lemony. Nice if you like Sauvignon leaning towards New Zealand in style.<\/p>\n

\"grabovac-whites\"<\/a>

Grabovac Whites<\/p><\/div>\n

The 2014 Chardonnay “Sur Lie” was something different, a bigger wine at 13.5%, made from hillside grapes, barrel fermented and aged 12 months on the lees in 50% new oak.
\nIt was ripe with tropical fruit on the nose (dried banana) and some caramel\/fudge. On the palate there was tingling citric acidity with a firm structure and caramel on the long finish. This was a superb wine, the oak is a touch prominent at the moment so could handle 1-2 years further bottle age.<\/p>\n

The first red was the 2014 Trjnak, 13%,\u00a015-16 months barrel aged in 1\/3 new oak. There’s only 200ha of this grape\u00a0in Croatia or Bosnia\u00a0and before today I’d never heard of it, yet here I was on my second example in as many hours!
\nIt had a youthful colour and showed dark berries with\u00a0sour cherry on the nose, with some smoke and tar. There was a spicy approach, sharp acidity with some smoky oak on the mid-palate and a warm finish.\u00a0Another good wine where 2-3 years seems about right.<\/p>\n

\"grabovac-modro-jezero\"<\/a>The last red was the Modro Jezero (blue lake) 2012 Grand Reserve: Trjnak, Vranac, Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5%, aged for 24-30 months in barrel. It was very dark in colour with a volatile aroma of\u00a0dark berries and a touch of vanilla & smoke. Spicy acidity on the approach, settling into a strong structured mid-palate and a long, oaky finish. This was very good indeed, also with a few years life ahead of it.<\/p>\n

We finished with sparkling; first the\u00a0Ros\u00e9 (Trnjak, Vranac, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon) which had a dark berry aspect with a tonic water\/quinine aspect that was rather refreshing; then – for those who made a beeline for Milan at the tasting counter – their White sparkler made from Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. This had a yeasty nose and a dry, citrus and green apple taste, also delicious!<\/p>\n

\"grabovac-shop\"<\/a>

Grabovac shop<\/p><\/div>\n

Imotski is definitely a region to be aware of when looking at Croatian wines and Grabovac was the star of the day, helped along by Milan’s infectious enthusiasm. It probably was the star of the week, equal with Putalj on the first day’s trip<\/a> for the quality of the wines and the similar\u00a0personalities of Anton vs Milan, but edging ahead due to the lovely lunch, a couple of extra wines on tasting and being able to see the barrel room as well!<\/p>\n

\u017divjeli!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day 2 of\u00a0the AdVintage 2016 wine tour saw us in Imotski, a small town east from Split,\u00a0only a couple of kilometers from the border with Bosnia & Herzegovina. As a tourist destination it is famous for its Blue and Red … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,23,43],"tags":[65,160],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=815"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":906,"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815\/revisions\/906"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}