Dalmatia Rising: A wine renaissance on the Croatian coast

Dalmatia is a modern-day paradise, perched along Croatian’s Adriatic coast. Tourists the world over flock to its crystal blue waters and enchanting ancient towns from Dubrovnik to Split and Zadar on the region’s northern limit, their red roofs basking in the sun.

Dalmatia’s coast and plentiful islands have long harboured a wine culture built on indigenous grape varieties that are tough to say and spell owing to their Slavic roots and abundant consonants.

The flagship wine for Dalmatia has long been Plavac Mali, a hearty red variety known for its higher alcohols and ample tannins. But as the region becomes a summertime playground for tourists and serious wine drinkers beginning to explore Dalmatia’s myriad varieties, a lighter, fresher style is being sought in red and white wines.

I recently visited the region twice after a 10-year hiatus and was taken by the wines being produced today and the fresh, youthful energy driving a wine renaissance.

Scroll down for the tasting notes and scores from some of Dalmatia’s rising stars

The California connection

While the younger US wine industry is more established than Croatia’s, the coastal region of Dalmatia has been intimately linked to California. Zinfandel, the variety which launched California’s fine wine boom in the late 19th century, is genetically identical to the indigenous grape from Dalmatia.

Known locally by two names, Crljenak Kaštelanski and Tribidrag. The Dalmatian region of Kaštela and its rocky soils were confirmed as the original home of Zinfandel in a genetic analysis by UC Davis scientist Carole Meredith conducted in the 1990s.

The finding has reinvigorated local interest in the variety that had long given ground to the more regionally popular and easier to cultivate, Plavac Mali. Varietal Tribidrag and Crljenak have seen plantings increase in the last 10 years.

In addition to California’s fine wine origins having deep Dalmatian roots, one of the most historically significant American winemakers also comes from the Dalmatian coast.

Miljenko ‘Mike’ Grgich was born in the hillside village of Desne, above the Neretva River, in April 1923. He would flee (what was then) Yugoslavia via Germany and Canada before making his way to the Napa Valley in 1958.

There, he would craft perhaps the most important wine in American history. At Chateau Montelena, in 1973, Grgich made the white wine that won the 1976 Judgement of Paris, besting the best white Burgundies in the competition and shaking the world of wine to its core.

His Chardonnay showed that America could produce wine as well as anywhere in the world.

A stylistic shift

The variety most associated with Dalmatia is the big, boisterous red wine from the long-heralded Plavac Mali. Hearty and a tad rustic, Plavac Mali is high in alcohol and tannin.

It has long been the primary driver for the region’s fine wine industry and is responsible for the fine wine world paying attention to Dalmatia.

The region’s signature wine, it can certainly develop elegance with age but remains a robust wine that stylistically is a bit of a throwback to the days of high scores correlating to big fruit and opulence with very low acidity, making balance a challenge.

The best examples show refinement and ageability, making a case for Plavac Mali made in a more elegant, classic style.

And as Dalmatia’s winemakers evolve their approach, they’re embracing white and red wines that are lighter, fresher, and more in vogue.

Leaning into the historic indigenous grapes and exploring international varieties, a select group of Dalmatian producers are raising the bar in Dalmatia, making fresh, captivating wines.

Dalmatian producers on the rise:

Ante Sladić

In the tiny village of Plastovo, some of the most exciting wines in Croatia are being made. Just around the corner from the renowned natural wine producer Bibich sits Ante Sladić, an exciting Dalmatian winery that leans on generations of wine growing and winemaking tradition.

Winemaker Ante Sladič embraces fresher takes on indigenous grapes like Maraština, Debit, Plavina and a glorious variety that only grows in the hills outside of Skradin near the Krka River, Lasina.

As red wines in Dalmatia go, Lasina is an outlier. Its vibrant acidity and savoury, red-fruited character make it a standout, evocative of Pinot Noir or perhaps Gamay. The cool evenings of the area surrounding the Krka River preserve Lasina’s brightness.

It’s a difficult grape to farm and to make wine from, owing to its vigorous canopies, uniquely high acidity and lower levels of sugar accumulation. Well worth the effort, it’s a wine of purity and precision, at once delicate and vibrant.

Lasina is a rare variety that only grows in a 50-kilometre radius around the hills of Skradin; however, it may point towards the future of Dalmatian wines in terms of style, light-bodied and lower in alcohol, a definite chillable red for those hot Dalmatian summer days.

Degarra

The Degarra winery, a translation of vin de garage, is in Zadar County, the far northern coast of Dalmatia. It is a partnership between Mate Pestić and Dane Šulentić, along with Dane’s wife Dragana, the winemaker.

The partnership came together as Mate Pestić inherited a family vineyard from his grandfather, and serendipity brought Dane and Dragana Šulentić into his orbit. They make wine in an old Yugoslavian military depot, which apparently formerly stored everything from landmines to trombones.

Degarra produces wines from local varieties as well as international grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot. While these wines are wildly popular locally, their treatment of the indigenous variety Maraština is a standout from all the Dalmatian wines I’ve tasted.

They are serious about ageability, which may be the key to unlocking the great potential of Dalmatian wine.

Prović

South towards the Pelješac Peninsula, the Neretva River flows from its headwaters in the Dinaric Alps through Bosnia and Herzegovina before passing through Croatia to the Adriatic Sea.

In the lower Neretva delta, the estate vines of the Prović winery are cultivated near the town of Opuzen. Here, the vines are planted in soils reclaimed from the river delta, sea shells embedded in the fertile soils.

Now in its second generation, young winemaker Vjeko and his sister Monika Prović lead the family business.

Looking down on Opuzen from the foothills of the Dinaric Alps sits the small village of Desne. The birthplace of Mike Grgich, one of the most critical figures in Croatian and American wine.

Grigch opened his Croatian winery in 1996, Grgić Vina, inspiring a revolution in fine wine here. Spurred on by Mike’s landmark American wine from Chateau Montelena, they’ve planted Chardonnay, the first in the southern reaches of Dalmatia, amidst more than 100 indigenous varieties.

A saline minerality and sterling acidity mark their outstanding white wines. It’s a throughline across the range from the indigenous Zlatarica to the celebratory Chardonnay, which shines alongside the rich river gastronomy of frog and eel, unique to the region.

Rizman

Rizman has a long history in Dalmatian wine. The current winemaker and owner, Damir Štimac, can trace his family’s roots in wine to the early 20th century; his great-grandfather, Mihovil Mijo Popich, made wine in the town of Opuzen and was known by the nickname Rizman.

Today, the winery and tasting room sits atop the hill in Komarna, a region they founded. Looking out at the bridge to the Pelješac Peninsula, the views are breathtaking. They began planting 22 hectares of vineyard in 2008, along with over 1,700 olive trees.

The region is entirely organic, and the Štimac family is committed to indigenous varieties. Plavac Mali and Pošip comprise 90% of their plantings, with Tribidrag (Zinfandel) making up the remainder.

While it’s a hot region, the wines retain great tension and acidity; Damir credits the wind and cold nights high on the exposed slopes above the Adriatic Sea.

The Plavac Mali bottlings from Rizman, particularly their Primus, show a refined and classic character to the variety that is few and far between.

Korta Katarina

Staring out at the Adriatic, Korta Katarina sits on the Pelješac Peninsula. Perched along the road, just before the town of Orebić, where one takes the ferry to the island of Korčula. Korta Katarina was founded by an American couple, Lee and Penny Anderson, who purchased the property after helping rebuild Croatia after the war.

In addition to a vineyard planted completely to Plavac Mali and their winery, Korta Katarina operates a luxury villa on the property.

Often, when wines are attached to a larger resort property, they are seen as an accessory; at Korta Katarina, they are the focus. Over the years, they have developed a reputation for crafting some of the finest Plavac Mali in all of Dalmatia.

They source fruit for their top wines from both Postup, where the estate vineyards sit, and nearby Dingač, both on the Pelješac peninsula. These two regions are considered Dalmatia’s top appellations with protected designations that date to the 1960s and Yugoslavia, planted exclusively to Plavac Mali.

Winemaker Ante Cibilić is one of the young names raising the profile and modernising the styles of Dalmatia’s indigenous wines. Crafting age worthy wines that show nuance and a sense of place.

Dalmatia rising: 15 wines from the region’s top producers

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