TN: And now for something completely different

[Loren Sonkin]

Last we had dinner with a few friends. With assorted Pizzas and salad:

2004 Zlatan Plavac (Croatia)
Made from the Plavac Mali grape. Ruby/black in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose has some brett to it, which I really enjoyed. Also some black pepper and cranberries. On the palate, this is a bit to alcoholic. It does not fully handle its 14.5%. At the same time, there is a lot of acidity to this. It NEEDS food. Tastes of cranberries, raspberries and black pepper. It mellows a bit with air. Nice finish. A fun wine. I paid $37 and not worth a second bottle, but the first was worth it for the opportunity to try something different.

1995 Ripe del Falco Ippolito 1845 Ciro Rosso Classicio Superiore
Ruby/cherry in color, mostly clear and bright. The nose is nice with cherries and some black raspberries. A bit of anise too. Full bodied. On the palate, this is not the stunner that the 1992 was, but still very good. Mature but certainly not past prime. Who says Ciros cant age? Cherries and earthiness on the palate. Smooth and easy to drink. Great with food.

 

[Ignacio Villalgordo]

Zlatan Plavac is believed to be one of the best croatian wines, fwiw. It is best consumed with truffle spagetti in one of the open air terraces in the the beautiful town of Dubrovnik (Croatis's Istria peninsula is well known for its white truffle, although is not up to the standards of the piamontese truffle)

Aside from that, I agree is not worth the money...

 

[Cliff]

originally posted by Ignacio Villalgordo:
Zlatan Plavac is believed to be one of the best croatian wines, fwiw. It is best consumed with truffle spagetti in one of the open air terraces in the the beautiful town of Dubrovnik (Croatis's Istria peninsula is well known for its white truffle, although is not up to the standards of the piamontese truffle)

Aside from that, I agree is not worth the money...

Sounds like it finishes hot, too. Anyone know if there is any decent Croatian fare kicking around NYC these days? Astor brought in a couple a few years ago that I thought were nice -- one in particular, a great March Madness bottle, by a producer called "Postup." How can you beat that?

 

[Frank Deis]

While I haven't been there Google says Trio on E. 33rd might be your best bet.

My brother in law is part Croatian so I know a little about the food. Interesting mix of Slavic and Mediterranean.

F

 

[Tvrtko Cernos]

Wow, esoteric stuff.
Zlatan Plavac is made by Hvar-based Zlatan Plenkovic. It's his entry-level bottling. Over the last ten or so vintages, this wine has ranged from abysmal (entirely out of balance, soaring alcohol levels unsupported by structure) to moderately interesting at best. His top wine, the improbably named "Grand Cru", is in an entirely different ballpark qualitywise (nevertheless overpriced, even locally).
Cliff, Postup is a wine-growing area on Peljesac, a peninsula in Croatia's south. It is right next to the apparently somewhat better known Dingach.