Zlatan Otok Plavac Barrique 2020

Drink now or cellar for up to 7 years. Decant 1 hour before serving. Drunk by Dalmatia’s fishermen and farmers for centuries, Plavac Mali is Croatia’s leading black grape variety and is thought to be related to California’s Zinfandel and Italy’s Primitivo varieties. This superb example is crafted by talented winemaker Zlatan Plenkovic from top quality grapes grown on the sunny island of Hvar. Here the warm summers and cooling sea breezes are ideal for producing complex, ageworthy red wines with a bold flavour profile and well-developed tannins. Following vinification the wine is aged in new and used oak barrels for 18 months and then matured in the bottle for 6 months before release. On the nose there are rich ripe plum, black cherry and earthy notes which deepen into spicy dark berry and sweet cinnamon on the palate. The firm structure, bold fruit character and impressively long finish indicate this is a wine which will age gracefully over the next decade or so if kept in cellar conditions. If you don’t have the patience to wait that long, this powerful Plavac Mali is also ideal to serve now alongside hearty and richly-flavoured dishes like beef bourguignon, coq au vin or steak with fries.