Zlatan Otok Bilo Idro Plavac Mali
$22.00
Out of stock
Vintage: 2020
Region: Šibenik, Dalmatia, Croatia
Viticulture: Practicing Organic
Grape varieties: 100% Plavac Mali
Zlatan Oto Bilo Idro Plavac Mali is a touch lighter in the body than other Plavacs. Bright and fresh with red cherry and gentle tannins.
Song: What It Isn’t by Eels
Additional information
Out of stock
Save 10% when you buy six or more bottles (mix and match)
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
About Zlatan Otok Bilo Idro Plavac Mali
Zlatan Otok Bilo Idro Plavac Mali is a touch lighter in the body than other Plavac, but still very much stylistically a Zlatan Plavac! A bright and fresher Plavac with notes of dark red cherry, baby blueberries, subtle earthiness, and gentle tannins.
This Plavac could certainly be slightly chilled and enjoyed by itself or enjoy with any totally casual bar foods – crush Bilo Idro Plavac with burgers, pizza, chicken fingers, late night pork roll egg & cheese, or just sipping while watching the sunset over any beautiful body of water.
About Zlatan Otok
In 1991 Zlatan Otok winery became the second private winery in Croatia after the country declared its independence. Established by Zlatan Plenković in a picturesque fishing village called Sveta Nedjelja on the Island of Hvar, today Zlatan Otok is one of the largest private wineries in Croatia. Zlatan had big dreams and worked very hard. His legacy of hard work, entrepreneurial persistence, and dedication to traditional winemaking is now continued by his sons, Nikola and Marin, and winemaker Davor.
About Plavac Mali
Plavac Mali is a well-known red wine grape in its homeland of Croatia, providing the basis of many of the nation’s most sought-after red wines. It is one of Croatia’s most planted varieties.
Plavac Mali is known for producing dense and robust reds with black cherry flavors and notes of pepper, smoke, and spice. They are often quite high in alcohol and tannins and have excellent aging capabilities, a trait not often seen in Croatian wine.
Most plantings can be found on the Dalmatian Coast, particularly on the Peljesac Peninsula, where the appellations of Postup and Dingac provide the best-known examples of Plavac Mali wines. The variety thrives on the sandy, south-facing terraces above the sea, often trained as bush vines to avoid the harsh effects of the Mediterranean sun. In this terroir, Plavac Mali gives low grape yields, leading to concentrated wines.
The variety’s name comes from the appearance of the grapes: mali means small, while plavac – a prefix given to several Croatian varieties – refers to the blue color of the berries. These are small and thick-skinned with high sugar concentration, giving structured, tannic wines that are sometimes produced with a little residual sugar to provide a softening effect.
Plavac Mali has had a confused history throughout the 20th Century: it was first thought to be genetically identical to the widespread Californian variety Zinfandel. Mike Grgich, the winemaker behind the iconic Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that upset French wine critics in the 1976 Paris Judgement, first noted the similarities between Zinfandel and the Plavac Mali wines he knew from his youth on the Dalmatian Coast, and employed researchers at UC Davis to explore further. It turned out that the varieties were not identical, but genetically linked, and further testing revealed that Plavac Mali was the offspring of Zinfandel (its other parent being Dobricic, an ancient variety native to Croatia).
Wines made from Plavac Mali follow the trend for rich, age-worthy red wines, and their most famous proponent, Mike Grgich, has helped bring them to an international audience.