Going native: Indigenous grapes lead a banner year for the Balkans at DWWA 2026

Run a finger down the medal charts of Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2026 and, between the familiar names of France, Italy and Spain, there's another region making its mark. South-eastern Europe, often dubbed the Balkans, is bringing in a sizable haul, with Croatia claiming 40 top medals, including its first Best in Show in a decade, Bosnia and Herzegovina recording its best-ever Gold performance, Serbia claiming its first Platinums since 2020, and Slovenia continuing its own strong run with a first Platinum of its own.

Strip it back even further and there's a common thread linking these wins: local varieties taking the helm. Plavac Mali, Žilavka, Prokupac, Refošk – varieties that have grown here for centuries, largely ignored by the wider wine world, are suddenly outscoring far more famous names in blind judging.

Dr Caroline Gilby MW, Regional Chair for the Balkans, Central & Eastern Europe, and Croatia & Slovenia, watched it happen from inside the judging room. What struck her was 'the sheer diversity of exciting wines' across these regions, calling the results 'very positive progress', adding that it is 'particularly great to see indigenous varieties getting the chance to shine.'

For the curious, the collectors, the amateurs or the experts, here's a round trip through the best of the banner year from the Balkans.

Croatia: Plavac Mali makes history

The headline act belongs to Croatia. Marijan's Plaža Plavac, Hvar 2021 became only the second Croatian wine ever to reach the Best in Show list – the first since 2016 – and the first 100% Plavac Mali to do so.

Plavac Mali is Dalmatia's great red grape, and few wines anywhere are harder won. This is by no means a fresh, low-alcohol red. The Marijan family's vineyards cling to sea-facing slopes on Hvar, Croatia's sunniest island, with inclines of up to 60 degrees, held in place by a historic terrace system built over generations. Mechanised cultivation is impossible across much of the land, so, as winemaker Tonči Marijan explains, 'absolutely everything, from year-round vineyard management to the harvest itself, is done exclusively by hand.' Most of the vines are more than 50 years old, planted at a density of nearly 10,000 per hectare in stony ground so poor it holds no water, forcing the roots deep into the karst in search of moisture and minerals.

Then there is the blazing sun. The site enjoys what Marijan calls 'triple insolation': 'direct sunlight, the reflection of the sun off the sea surface, and the reflection of heat from the bare stone back onto the vines.' The result is grapes of immense ripeness, which undergo extended maceration, fermentation on indigenous yeasts lasting over a year, and ageing in custom-made barrels. What emerges is 'a dense wine with an exceptionally rich body' whose tannins, he says, 'blend the raw wildness of nature with elegance in the glass.' The judges agreed, finding 'dense blackberry and black cherry fruit with overtones of fig, sage and thyme.'

For the Marijan family, the award crowns a 15-year endeavour.

The title, he adds, 'is a massive recognition for Croatia as a European wine region' and, above all, 'an immense recognition for me and my family who created this wine, and who believed unconditionally in its potential from the very beginning.'

The win tops a remarkable Croatian year: 40 top medals in all, including five Platinums and 34 Golds, from a country the judges credit with strides in wine culture 'perhaps unmatched by any other European wine nation.'

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Žilavka's moment

Herzegovina, the sun-scorched southern half of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has long sat on the sidelines of Europe’s wine conversation. Its capital, Mostar, sits on the Neretva River amid dramatic karst limestone hills, a short drive inland from the Adriatic – a landscape of bare stone and blazing sun that, as it turns out, makes for extraordinary white wine. This year, the country turned in its best-ever Gold performance, and every one of its leading wines was built on Žilavka, the indigenous white of Herzegovina.

Vino Milas's Žilavka, Mostarsko Vinogorje 2024, led the way with 96 points, with two more Žilavka Golds behind it from Vilinka and Vinogradi Nuić. Clearly, Žilavka is not a one-trick pony.

For winemaker Zdenko Milas, the grape is inseparable from its harsh, sun-baked home. Žilavka, he says, is 'an indigenous white grape variety that perfectly reflects the strength and character of Herzegovina.' The vineyards around Mostar bake under more than 2,300 hours of sunshine a year on hot karst limestone, yet cold mountain winds drop night-time temperatures sharply, preserving the acidity that keeps the wines taut. Even the name tells the story: it derives from žila, the local word for vein, a nod to a tough, drought-resistant vine that drives its roots deep through rock crevices to find water, and to the fine veins visible through the ripe grape's translucent skin.

The result, Milas says, is a wine that 'blends northern freshness with southern warmth': full-bodied and textured, yet crisply mineral, with a briny finish drawn from the stony soils. He recommends it well–chilled, alongside fish, roasted lamb, prosciutto or mature sheep's cheese. Caroline Gilby MW, for her part, singled the country out: 'Bosnia & Herzegovina had a couple of really exciting flights, far more top medals than I recall previously.'

Serbia: The return of Prokupac

Serbia broke a five-year Platinum drought in style, with a hat-trick – three in one year. Two went to international varieties – Matalj's Cabernet Sauvignon Kremen Kamen 2021 and Deurić's amphora–aged La Rem Chardonnay 2023 – but the most telling belonged to the country's own grape: Aleksandrović's Kameničarka Prokupac, Oplenac 2022, scoring 97 points for a variety few outside Serbia have ever poured.

The achievement, she explains, rests on more than 15 years of patient work, from selecting planting material and establishing vineyards to refining the viticulture and winemaking needed to unlock the grape's potential.

She believes the timing is no accident. 'Wine lovers around the world are increasingly looking for authenticity, originality and a genuine sense of place,' she says, adding that Prokupac has proven highly resilient in the face of climate change. Thanks to its vibrant fruit, elegance and finesse, she notes, it is often referred to as 'the Serbian Pinot Noir' – and the judges' note reads like proof, finding 'spell-binding pepper and violet tones' smouldering over dark cherry and mulberry fruit, with 'delicate tannins and vibrant acidity' displaying what they called varietal prowess.

Slovenia: A first for Refošk

Slovenia rounded out the Balkans' banner year with a first of its own: the first Platinum ever awarded to a red Istrski Refošk, for Steras's Refošk, Primorska 2024. Grown near the Adriatic in Slovenian Istria, Refošk is a grape of almost defiant local character, and the judges' note captures it: 'smouldering dark fruit' galvanised by leafy herbs and 'a cooling mineral breeze', with chiselled tannins and searing acidity – 'very long and fabulously authentic.'

It capped a strong Slovenian year of two Platinums and 12 Golds, the other Platinum going to a 33–year–old sweet Welschriesling from 1993 – the very wine Caroline Gilby MW remembered from the judging room as a 'wonderful 1993 Laski Riesling.'

Caroline Gilby MW points to winemaking that has become 'more sympathetic', with less emphasis on sheer power, letting single vineyards and native grapes speak for themselves. Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia, she says, together with the wider region, are 'real hotspots of exciting wines, not always cheap but great wines for the price.'

Her advice to drinkers is the best possible summary of this year's Balkan results, and an invitation: 'Be brave and go off the beaten track.' Start with a grape you cannot pronounce. On this evidence, it may be the best bottle on the table.

DWWA 2026: The Balkans' top wines

Marijan, Plaža Plavac, Hvar, Coastal, Croatia 2021

Best in Show, 97 points
This is only the second Croatian wine ever to make it into our Best In Show selection – and the first, a red–stemmed Refosco, came back in our 2016 competition. Since then, Croatian wine culture has made enormous strides, strides perhaps unmatched by any other European wine nation, so it was gratifying when our judges found this exciting Plavac Mali from the Dalmatian island of Hvar to champion this year. Wines such as this tend to come from heroic viticulture in extreme sites, often on steep slopes of karst limestone facing the glittering Adriatic – so if you're after fresh, low–alcohol reds, look elsewhere. If you love the lavish, the warm and the exuberant in red wine, though, you'll find this powerfully opulent wine a revelation: dense blackberry and black cherry fruit with overtones of fig, sage and thyme, lent balance by grandly soft tannins, peppery depths and sustaining though subdued acidity. Perfect to keep us all going through the winter. Alcohol 16%

Aleksandrović, Kameničarka Prokupac, Oplenac, Šumadija–Great Morava, Serbia 2022

Platinum, 97 points
Spell–binding pepper and violet tones smoulder over ample blackberry, dark cherry and mulberry fruit. Delicate tannins and vibrant acidity display varietal prowess. Long and lively.
Alc 14%

Deurić, La Rem Chardonnay, Fruška Gora, Srem, Serbia 2023

Platinum, 97 points
Juicy pear, apple, peach and citrus laced with a delightful herbal hue. Impeccable purity and youth reign over the well–defined structure, supple honeyed texture and mouth–watering acidity. Varietal mastery and perfection enhanced by amphora ageing. Alc 13.5%

Matalj, Kremen Kamen, Negotinska Krajina, Serbia 2021

Platinum, 97 points
Outstanding complexity, manifesting labyrinthine aromas of blackberry, cherry and plum fruit interlaced with cedar, coffee oak and earthy herbal tones. Elaborate structure, velvet texture, satin tannins and seamless minty–fresh length verify the world-class elegance! Alc 14.5%

Steras, Refošk, Primorska, Slovenia 2024

Platinum, 97 points
Smouldering dark fruit: black cherry, plum and blackcurrant aromas galvanised by leafy herbs and a cooling mineral breeze. Densely populated with chiselled tannins and searing acidity, showing youthful power and intensity. Very long and fabulously authentic. Alc 14.5%

Vino Milas, Žilavka, Mostarsko Vinogorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2024

Gold, 96 points
Bursting with honeyed peaches, nectarines and yellow plums that spill over the waxy texture, and lime pith acidity. Striking mineral energy infuses the long finish. Alc 13.5%

Vilinka, Selekcija Žilavka, Mostarsko Vinogorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2025

Gold, 95 points
Jubilant peach, apricot, melon and pear notes with a pervasive youthful core of citrus acidity and lemon pith texture. Vital and varietal with a saline length. Alc 12.8%

Vinogradi Nuić, Žilavka, Mostarsko Vinogorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2025

Gold, 95 points
Impeccable aromas of apple blossom, white peach and melon with a rush of saline and citrus freshness on the palate. Vibrant and precise with a stony finish. Alc 13%

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