What We're Drinking Now: 2007 Grgic Plavac Mali
Grgic Plavac Mali
We came across this wine while working in the Penedes of Spain. Every night we would taste a different wine from our host's cellar and write tasting notes. Right away I noticed the similarity between the name, Grgic, and Napa Valley's Grgich Hills Estate in Rutherford. My suspicions turned out to be right and I discovered that this is Mike Grgich's (born Miljenko Grgic) winery in Croatia. He was instrumental in the research that led to the discovery of Zinfandel being one of the parent grape varieties of Plavac Mali in the late 90's.
Reaching for a glass, spiced raspberries and jammy blackberries burst from the glass and it is reminiscent of a warm climate CA Zinfandel such as Amador County. Supple tannins and more spice and cassis grip the tongue and then slowly release their hold over the next couple of minutes. This was an extremely pleasant surprise from many of the Spanish and Portuguese wines we had been drinking and would pair perfectly with rich meat dishes like bbq pulled pork or bbq ribs.
