Off the Beaten Track

Part III - Tasting Notes

Finally, here are some of the wines I tasted during my travels:


Wine: Mezzek
Producer: Katarzyna Estate
Vintage: 2009
Origin: Tharcian Valley, Bulgaria
Grape(s): Chardonnay
Price: 15PLN (£3.20)

A great cheap Chardonnay with a lovely Burgundian streak of flinty minerallity. Nothing too special, but way more fun than most Chardonnay at twice the price back home.



Wine: Ragusa
Producer: Dubrovacki Podrumi
Vintage: 2009
Origin: Gruda, Croatia
Grape(s): Maraština
Price: Unknown

A medium golden colour, this had youthful aromas of lemon zest and green apple, with a lovely whiff of nettles and green grass. The palate showed more pronounced tropical flavours moving through some vegetal notes to a juicy apple finish. Not bad length and lingering acidity. Complex and quite unusual.



Wine: Matus
Producer: Vina Vukas
Vintage: 2008
Origin: Ponikve, Croatia
Grape(s): Plavac Mali
Price: Unknown

Plavac Mali is said to be a close relative of Zinfandel. Maybe if you took some Zinf to the fiery centre of the earth and back, dragged it kicking and screaming through a tar-pit and threw it a few ‘your mother’s so fat’ insults then you might come close to this. Straight up I could see this was a big wine - deep, deep garnet with syrupy legs. Rich, earthy and spicy aromas were the precursor to a similarly dark, tannic and intense palate. Great wine, but not for the faint-hearted.



Wine: Tiblisi Iveriuli
Producer: Tbilvino
Vintage: 2009
Origin: Kakheti, Georgia
Grape(s): Rkatsiteli
Price: 24 PLN (£5.11)

A fresh and youthful white, bone dry with some interesting and unusual fruit character. Did I mention dry? Really, bone dry. Tbilvino picked up some medals at IWSC recently and this seems like an entry level effort, so I’d love to try their higher end stuff.



Wine: Bertram, Egri Cuvee
Producer: Thummerer
Vintage: 2001
Origin: Eger, Hungary
Grape(s): Blauburger, Gamay, Kékoportó
Price: 34PLN (£7.24)

Deep garnet, browning towards the rim. Developed aromas of dried dark fruits, mushroom, and game. Herby and savoury with the slightest oxidation. Initial burst of sweet dark cherry on the palate moves through all the savoury notes of the nose, with more fragrant herbs, firm tannins and a surprisingly juicy and complex finish. Retaining good acidity for its age, with no signs of tiredness yet.



Wine: Maria Anna Cuvee
Producer: Winnicy Maria Anna
Vintage: 2009
Origin: Czudec, Poland
Grape(s): Blend of Polish varietals.
Price: 35PLN (£7.45)

Very pronounced youthful aromas of underripe tropical fruit, marred with a hint of ‘cat-pee’. Gooseberry flavours gave up quickly, leaving only heartburn levels of acidity. A little more bottle age may help, but not likely. Two or more glasses would probably give you an ulcer.



Wine: Ventus Laški Rizling
Producer: Vipava
Vintage: 2006
Origin: Vipava Valley, Slovenia
Grape(s): Laški Rizling (Welschriesling)
Price: 30 PLN (£6.39)

Fantastically exotic Riesling, with floral, fresh fruit and sweet spice aromas. The palate was just off-dry with a great fresh acidity. Fruit character was still gorgeously apparent, and I really wished I had brought more of these back, to drink over the next 5 to 10 years.