by Patrick Ogle
Zlatan Otok's Plavac Vrhunsko Vino 2012 is a wine from Croatia. It has, both on the nose and taste, something of stewed fruit in it. It has an almost pruney smell. That doesn't sound good but you can say the same thing about Amarones or Ripassos. The tannins are medium and fruit predominates. It isn't all stewed but certainly dark and ripe. This isn't that but it does call to mind some wines from Italy--primitivos from the south. Some of you may know that primitivo is the grape known as zinfandel in the US of A.
Primitivo is often lower in alcohol and less fruity than the American versions and this is as well. But there is a bit of juicy, jaminess here and fans of Zins will not find this far outside their comfort zone. Indeed Plavac is a relative of the ancestor of Zinfandel (tribidrag/primitivo). The ancestral grape was, according to various sources, Crlenjak Kaštelanski. Plavac is a cross between this grape and another Croatian varietal, Dobričić. I figure the unpronounceable (to English speakers anyway) of Croatian wines may be a reason they are less known here. But plavak seems to be making inroads.
This wine is a good example of one that sounds exotic? But it is more familiar than alien to casual wine drinkers. Fans of zinfandel but also fans of the big fruity american blends that proliferate these days will like this wine. It isn't huge alcohol like some of those but it is no pipsqueak coming in at 14.2 %.
This isn't a subtle wine but it is one that people who like fruit forward wines with moderately high alcohol will appreciate. Don't be afraid of Croatian wines in general or plavak in particular.
Zlatan Otok's Plavac Vrhunsko Vino 2012 is a wine from Croatia. It has, both on the nose and taste, something of stewed fruit in it. It has an almost pruney smell. That doesn't sound good but you can say the same thing about Amarones or Ripassos. The tannins are medium and fruit predominates. It isn't all stewed but certainly dark and ripe. This isn't that but it does call to mind some wines from Italy--primitivos from the south. Some of you may know that primitivo is the grape known as zinfandel in the US of A.
Primitivo is often lower in alcohol and less fruity than the American versions and this is as well. But there is a bit of juicy, jaminess here and fans of Zins will not find this far outside their comfort zone. Indeed Plavac is a relative of the ancestor of Zinfandel (tribidrag/primitivo). The ancestral grape was, according to various sources, Crlenjak Kaštelanski. Plavac is a cross between this grape and another Croatian varietal, Dobričić. I figure the unpronounceable (to English speakers anyway) of Croatian wines may be a reason they are less known here. But plavak seems to be making inroads.
This wine is a good example of one that sounds exotic? But it is more familiar than alien to casual wine drinkers. Fans of zinfandel but also fans of the big fruity american blends that proliferate these days will like this wine. It isn't huge alcohol like some of those but it is no pipsqueak coming in at 14.2 %.
This isn't a subtle wine but it is one that people who like fruit forward wines with moderately high alcohol will appreciate. Don't be afraid of Croatian wines in general or plavak in particular.
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