Ruddy garnet out to a wide clear edge, but definitely amber. Instantaneous floral nose that breathes off to far more funk and crispy green herbaceousness. Neutral-woody balance, no cloying fruit, just clear, clean berry on a deeply ripened foundation.
Oh how I love Plavac Mali. Coming up through California wine for the past 30-odd years, it’s hard not to immediately have a *zinfandel* asterisk floating around in your head whenever you open this variety or Primitivo. But rarely do they correspond, and the veil of ‘California Zinfandel’ is shattered soon-on in almost every instance. Here we have a fine example of clean, light, straight-forward wine standing on its own, and the ONLY comparison would be Zinfandels from the 70’s and 80’s.
Rippingly acidic and brilliantly tannic in the mouth, but not a heavily alcoholic, ridiculously tannic situation, but that clairvoyant way good European wines carry their tannin alongside the bright berry. Lusciously fruited, dark cherry and plump raspberry carry a light song through the entire package. Woodsy peat and steely minerality solidify the center, where bitter structural situations begin to play. Achingly dry and raspy, it begs for food of all sorts, and while the 99 will suffer from a lack of sweetness or overt concentration, the geeks will cheer.
Another BEAUTIFUL Croatian Plavic, just beginning to polish out at 5 and good to go for another 5 years easy. Mikey likes it.
2015 RIZMAN SLIVNO Plavac Mali South Dalmatia Croatia 13.5
Stephen McConnell 