Caroline Gilby MW, Isa Bal MS and Darrel Joseph tasted 151 wines, with 8 Excellent and 67 Extremely advisable.
Adriatic whites panel tasting scores
151 wines tasted
Distinctive 0
Excellent 8
Extremely advisable 67
Really helpful 72
Recommended 4
Truthful 0
Poor 0
Entry standards: producers and UK brokers had been invited to submit their current-release white wines from Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro or Bosnia-Herzegovina, single varietals or blends utilizing any grapes, however ideally together with a big proportion of indigenous varieties
The jap shore of the Adriatic sea is healthier identified for its tourism than for wine, however outcomes from this tasting confirmed that it’s residence to many wines to spark wine lovers’ curiosity. Croatia, with some 1,800km of Adriatic shoreline, submitted most wines, however there was additionally a great displaying from Slovenia (47km of coast) and a handful from Bosnia & Herzegovina (simply 20km of seashore).
This was a formidable, and sometimes thrilling, two-day tasting, with only a few poor wines. As Isa Bal MS identified: ‘I discovered the standard to be of a really excessive normal,’ highlighting, ‘some glorious Malvasia from Croatia and a few very well-made, pyrazine-free examples of Sauvignon Blanc from Slovenia.’
Scroll right down to see tasting notes and scores for the highest wines from the Adriatic whites panel tasting
Native grapes dominated the entries and offered lots of the top-scoring wines. Malvasia Istriana (Malvazija Istarska is the native spelling) was the celebrity, displaying its potential in a number of types. It has gone from extraordinary workhorse to one thing fairly particular within the final twenty years. It makes nice vivid, fruity, interesting wines when vinified cool in metal, although even these less complicated variations can preserve remarkably nicely. Among the many 2021 wines, the principle reservation was that, although high quality was typically excellent, the wines had been all fairly related.
Malvasia can also be able to greatness in a complete vary of types, from traditional oak fermentation to pores and skin contact, orange and pure wines aged in different vessels reminiscent of clay amphora, bigger casks and even acacia wooden. Bal famous ‘some very competent winemaking utilizing pores and skin contact and pure yeast’.
Different native grapes additionally confirmed nicely, not least the extremely uncommon Grk – grown on a handful of hectares on the island of Korčula – as did Korčula’s different particular white grape, Pošip. There’s actual depth and nice texture, underscored by a sea-salt mineral freshness in these distinctive native grapes. Darrel Joseph famous that ‘most of those wines are beautiful exotica, treasures of the place they’re so at residence’.
See all 151 wines from the Adriatic whites panel tasting
There have been only some examples submitted to the tasting of the flagship Rebula grape (Ribolla Gialla) from western Slovenia – although these did present its high quality and flexibility.
Bosnia & Herzegovina’s flagship Zilavka was praised by Joseph: ‘Zilavka has actually been coming into its personal in recent times,’ he mentioned. ‘The range’s great Mediterranean herb and citrus traits and its gently elegant acidity shine by within the wines with such focus, readability and freshness. Even higher, Zilavka’s range is so attractive. It’s not nearly younger and recent steel-aged wines; it does so nicely additionally as barrel-matured and – joyously – at the same time as a pure, amber-style wine with age. Such thrilling potential!’
But it’s not nearly native grapes right here, and also you’ll discover a number of glorious examples of worldwide varieties that may additionally showcase the terroir. Pinot Gris was significantly robust, with a number of high-scoring wines displaying an depth and stability that wouldn’t be misplaced in Alsace or Collio. There have been additionally some glorious Chardonnays, and Sauvignons in a singular regional fashion between the fragrant fruitiness of New World and the mineral depth of the Loire.
All in all, this tasting was proof of a dynamic, if much less well-known a part of the wine world that’s nicely price exploring.
High scoring Adriatic whites
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The judges
Caroline Gilby MW is an awarded wine author, writer and speaker, with a ardour for the wines of the Balkans, central & jap Europe and the Black Sea. She is joint DWWA Regional Chair for North, Central & Jap Europe.
Isa Bal MS is a guide Grasp Sommelier. Winner of the distinguished Sommelier Award 2022 from Michelin Information Nice Britain & Eire, he was additionally winner of the Greatest Sommelier of Europe competitors in 2008, and was head sommelier for The Fats Duck Group for greater than 12 years.
Darrel Joseph has been writing concerning the wines of central and jap Europe since 1995, now additionally masking Croatia, Serbia and all different Balkan wine nations. He’s an everyday wine choose, educator and speaker, and is joint DWWA Regional Chair for North, Central & Jap Europe.
