Top 100 red wines of Croatia
Discover the top 100 best red wines of Croatia as well as the best winemakers in the region. Explore the varietals of the red wines that are popular of Croatia and the best vintages to taste in this region.
Croatia is an important wine-producing country on the Adriatic Sea, at the western end of Europe's Balkan Peninsula. Formerly Part of Yugoslavia, it borders Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro.
Export trade, although modest, has grown over the past two decades. The main Croatian styles are Dry white wines of Grasevina (WelschRiesling) and Malvasia, and rustic, Full-bodied red wines.
These wines are usually made from the Plavac Mali Grape.
White wine accounts for about two out of every three bottles produced in the country. In the interior regions, only 10% of the total annual production is red wine. The multitude of indigenous varieties that were once common here has declined alarmingly in recent decades.
Grasevina (Welschriesling) has Long been the preferred white variety in Croatian vineyards. It is supported by the regional specialties Bogdanusa, Grk, Posip and Vugava. The first is so reliable and prolific that it is called a "godsend". The second, Powerful and aromatic, was once considered the Viognier of the Rhone Valley.
Generous, high-alcohol reds with a dark robe and indulgent palate, showing aromas of stewed blackberry, raspberry, black pepper, liquorice, cinnamon and cooked fruit. Also vinified as a popular sweet rosé (White Zinfandel). Star of California (Lodi, Sonoma, Dry Creek Valley, Paso Robles) with sought-after century-old vines. Identical to Italian Primitivo and Croatian Crljenak Kaštelanski by DNA analysis.
red wines from the region of Croatia go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, lamb or rich fish (salmon, tuna etc) such as recipes of seven o'clock leg of lamb, pan-fried lamb heart or tuna, goat cheese and mustard pie.
On the nose in the region of Croatia often reveals types of flavors of cherry, oaky or smoke and sometimes also flavors of earthy, blackberry or blueberry. In the mouth in the region of Croatia is a powerful with a nice balance between acidity and tannins.