I enthusiastically welcomed Ivana Krstulović Carić’s invitation, the President of the Hvar Winemakers’ Association (Hvar Otok Vina), to lead the Hvar Island red wine tasting workshop. The topic was to follow the story of the original Tribidrag or Crljenak vine, linking it to his brother Italian Primitivo, in the most authentic expression of the different areas of Puglia , and to the “noble son” Plavac Mali.

On May 10th and 11th the Wine Festival of the Adriatic’s wine was celebrated: Tribidrag, Primitivo, Plavac Mali. A hug between the two coasts of the Adriatic symbolized by the common love for this wine full of emotions, aromas, pleasant sensations that has cheered to the most sublime palates, over the centuries, and has crowned and celebrated meetings and festive moments with the warm complacency of “god Bacchus”.

A generous wine with high sugars and high acids, with strong tannic presence and deep aromas of berries and flavour of spices. The strong mineral presence in the soil, makes the wine long-lived, and with indomitable character.

CANTINA APOLLONIO: PRIMITIVO DEL SALENTO IGP – TERRAGNOLO

CANTOLIO: PRIMITIVO DI MANDURIA DOP  – 14 DI TERRA

POLVANERA: PRIMITIVO DOC GIOIA DEL COLLE – POLVANERA 16 BIO

Wines of great tradition, expressions of the different areas of the territory, similar but different in the composition of the land, in the exposure of the vines, in the technique of winemaking. United, however, from the unmistakable flavor and fullness of the body and the enveloping and refined tannins.

Three different expressions of excellent quality: The TERRAGNOLO with a nose full of ripe cherry fruit, plum and blackberry and balsamic and spices . Long persistence with coffee , black fruits and coconut in the finish. POLVANERA 16, from “red soil”, rich in iron, with notes of red mulberry, delicate violet and aromatic herbs. In the finish, taste of liquorice and graphite. 14 DI TERRA, from potassium and iron soil, rich in poliphenolic structure, with delicate notes of red ripe fruits and floral sensations. perfectly balanced in alcohol, minerality and acidity. Velvet tannin and long persistence.

ZLATAN OTOK d.o.o. PLENKOVIĆ: ZLATAN CRLJENAK

BRAČA PLANČIĆ: FAROS OPOL

HVAR HILL d.o.o.: MAIOR RIZERVA

OPĆA POLJOPRIVREDNA ZADRUGA SVIRČE: PLAVAC DE LUX

VINA CARIĆ  – PLOVAC PLOŠKI

VINA TOMIĆ  – PLAVAC MALI BARRIQUE

The overall quality of the wines has greatly improved over the years. The best use of the wood used for refining, the yeast selection techniques and the care in the selection of the grapes has given rise to wines comparable with a good quality international standard.

Plavac Mali is a difficult wine to make. It is a racehorse, and like all thoroughbreds it  must be tamed in its most intense expressions. It is not easy to tame the tannin, the strong intensity of the anthocyanins and the high sugar content of the grapes. But the wisdom of the Dalmatian winemakers makes this wine pleasant, making velvety the astringency, sublime the aroma, fruity and spicy the flavor, and dry and enveloping the body of the wine.

ZLATAN CRLJENAK, pure Tribidrag from the Makarska area, rich in fruits and acidity. slight tannin and long persistence. FAROS OPOL, rich in minerality and deep secondary flavors. Aged in steel makes the wine easy to drink and pleasant in its balance. Sandy soils give a good degree of acidity and composure to the wine. MAIOR REZERVA is a complex and harmonious wine, with warm tones and balanced structure. Slavonian wood, where the wine matures, gives composure and pleasantness to the tannins and freshness on the palate. PLAVAC DE LUX is a wine very rich in polyphenols, with tannins still to evolve. A wine to be used with structured dishes to mitigate the strong plant presence. PLOVAC PLOŠKI is a wine made with wisdom. The use of large Slavonian barrels soften the imperious tannin very well, leaving ample space for the components of ripe red fruit and delicate white spices. A wine with great vigor, well balanced in alcohol and pleasantly harmonious in mineral components and freshness. PLAVAC MALI BARRIQUE, an unmistakable wine, elegantly structured. Soft, harmonious, long and persistent. The French oak is perfectly dosed to avoid invading the fullness of ripe fruit and black fruit flavors. Each sip highlights all the complex aromas of the wine, perfectly distinguishable. Pleasant spicy and slightly balsamic finish.

Thank you all for this unforgettable day and for the participation of all quality wine lovers.

My hope is to repeat this important event over the years to compare the successes and experiences of wine together and to reaffirm and consolidate this strong bond that binds our two countries through “the art of wine”, history, traditions and the culture that over the centuries have seen us as interpreters of fraternal and supportive friendship.

Roberto Lepori (Associazione Italiana Sommelier, freelance journalist & wine judge)

Hvar, May 17th, 2018