, llilf[IUtll||l[Il[[ll rlirrir' CENTRAI- & EASTERN EUROPE

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When a Slovenian took the International Sweet Wine Trophy at the Decanter World Wine Awards last month, it was further evidence of the rise of Central and Eastern European . Angela Muir MW gives an overview of this diverse region and joins fellow experts in naming the most dynamic producers

visitols THE CENTRAL AND Eastern European countrtes subsequent investment. Young winemakers are now Right: while most that emerged from behind the Iron Curtain just emerging, serious about quality; the best are to 's Dalmatian over 20 years ago now prt-rduce more wine lhan snapped up at serious prices on local markets. UI( coast flock there for the Argentina. If you include Moldova, Georgia, the trade buyers have to compete to obtain them and, sun and sea, the wines - Crimea and Russia, the output rivals that of the so far, they largely haven't bothered. Our loss. there and in neighbouring whole of South America. And yet our wine columns While most CEE countries are successfully and Hungaly - are are full of South American success stories, our scrambling up the greasy pole from basic large- now offering those in the real excitement shops are full of South American wines, and poor scale produclion in lhe Communisl years towards know old CEE is nowhere to be seen. We accept that South the fashioning of highly individual wines, some 's A merica ca n go u pma rket . bu t we ignore wha | have moved more quickly than others. Slovenia, happening on our own European doorstep. Football Croatia and are to the fore - and with already fanatics f lock to Ljubljana in droves, but are wine regards to the latter, I exclude Tokaji, which lovers and importers making similar voyages of has a global presence. discovery? There's not much sign of it. How can we have missed out so badlf in sharing some of the Making their move wine world's most exciling renaissancc slories? Slovenia, first into the Eurozone after avoiding the Here's the roll of honour: Bosnia-Herzegovlna, wars that rent former , now offers a range Bulgaria, Croatia, , Georgia. Hungary' of balanced, expressive, mainly white wines. West I(osovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro. Romania, of Ljubljana, the wines are inf luenced by shelter Russia, Serbia, Slovakia. Slovenia and Ukraine - all f rom the AIps on one side, the Adriatic coast to the just of which are producing wines worthy of attention. other and by the winemaking styles of Friuli, The hallmarks of wines from this largely cool- across the Italian border. and Pinot climate area are the bright tang of natural acidity Gris workwell. as does the local Rebula (aka Ribolla lifting the ripe, juicy fruit, married 1o a huge Gialla. via a citrus character that can take subtle a diversity. The region as a whole has ancestral rights oaking), and Sauvignonnasse (via fresh, leafy fresher and $ to all the international varieties and, on top of that, aromas). East of Ljubljana, wines are i hundreds if not thousands of ancient native grapes. more delicate, akin to southern . Sauvignon p' rne 1990s saw a scramble to re-establish private Blanc is at home here, as is Sipon (aka ), land and other assets. By producing every style from dry to . = ownership of agricultural 5 the end of the decade, replanting was getting into By the mid-1990s, western Slovenia had a clique ! its stride, backed by many sources ol income. A of boutique, family-owned wineries making unique =g growing, aspirational middle class began to tahe an wines for restaurants in the capital and along the !' interest in local, quality food and drinh. with a Istrian coast. Welltnown names like the Simdid i frugely positive effect on the wine industry and families, Scurek and Movia were already offering

46 lNovember 2011 'DECANTER concentrated, macerated whites that took years to Above: vines encroach on come round. At their best. these wines'were a the hilltop town of revelation, and this macerated style was copied Motovun in Croatia, where down the Dalmatian coast and beyond. native grapes Malvaziia Croatia is rapidly making up for the time lost in and Refoik show great its terrible wars. With every vintage, the Istrian potential peninsula realises more of its enormous potential interest in localwines - for whites f rom Malvazija, but especially for reds. Left: grow Look out for RefoSl<. often blended with Merlot or continues to in bars Cabernet. as winemakers learn to control its often and restaurants across crude tannins. Further south on the Dalmatian Slovenia coast we find the individual red grape, with its highly distinctive red plum flavours and

I fine tannins. Getting to l

4B I November 2011 . DECANTER CENTRAL & HAST€RhI KIJRCIPE

Croatia, Slovenia & Hungary: need tO knOw by DarrelJoseph

'.,':.. CROATIA '''.\ Vienna i planted vineyards lB,0O0 hectares AUSTRIA a1 SLOVAKIA Main wine regions Coastal (Primorska), i":i.r./.' Croatia Eastern Continental, Western Continental (Primorska) Keysub-regions lstria, Central and Southern ffi Coastal Dalmatia. , PleSivica !;$ Eastern Continental .|.000 ff Western Continental Number of wineries "8 tr! Coastal Planted vineyards 9,200ha Sub-region lstria White grape Malvazi.la lstarska Other vineyards Red grapes Teran, Refo5k, , Cabernet Franc, Slovenia producers Arman, Benvenuti, Brecevic, Top 4 Clai, Coronica, Degrassi, Kabola, Kozlovie , 'ti:t.l= F Slovenska lstra Trapan, MatoSevie, Roxanich % Ya 6 GoriSka Brda Sub-region Central and Southern Dalmatia ? Kras (includes Korcula, Hvar and appellations B OSNIA- I Stajerska Slovenija Dingac and Postup) HERZEGOVINA 9 White grape PoSip CE\*TRAL DALTTATIA 10 Bizeljsko-Sremic Red grape PIavac Mali +F# si 0 50 100 1s0 Top producers Antunovic, Bakovic, Gracin, kilometres ii-j Hungary Grgia, Korta Katarina, Krajandit, Milina-Bire, vittanv Frano Milo5. Plenkovic. Saints Hills Adriatic lzlfl somlo Sea I Eastern Continental SoLN'HERN q\ Sl eoer (includes DAI,]VIATIA Slavonia) ,''"''-"""', Planted vineyards 2,600ha White grapes Gra5evina, Zelenac, Sauvignon Red grapes Modra Frankinja, , Blanc. Chardonnay. ffi sub-region GoriSka Brda 1,992ha Zametkovka Red grapes Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Planted vineyards grapes Top producers Graben, lstenic, Sekoranda White Rebula, Sauvignonnasse, Top producers Krauthaker, Belje, llotki Chardonnay, Sivi Pinot grapes Podrumi, Ad2ic Red Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, HUNGARY Pinot Noir Planted vineyards 83,000ha XX Western Continental Top producers Movia, Siurek, Edi Sime ic, Main wine regions 22: notably Tokaj, Vil16ny, (includes Pleiivica) Marjan Simcic, Princic Somlo, Eger. Sopron, Badacscony, Szekszdrd, Planted vineyards 6,400ha ffi Sub-region Kras BalatonboglSr, Pannonhalma also significant White glapes , , Planted vineyards 753ha Number of wineries 1,500 Chardonnay White glapes lstriana, Vitovska Red grape Pinot Noir $,FlVilliny Red grape Refoik Top producers Sember, Tomac, Bodren, Planted vineyards 1,770ha Top producer Cotar botTan.5alran White grapes Chardonnay, Olaszrizling, Prodavje (9,650ha) H a rs leve h.i SLOVENIA S sub-region Stajerska Slovenita Red grapes Cabernet Franc, Kdkfrankos, Planted vineyards 16,000ha-22,300ha Planted vineyards B,6B5ha Cabernet Sauvignon, (statistics vary) white grapes Sipon, Renski Rizling, Top producers Bock, Attila Gere, Sauska, Mainwineregions Primorje, Podravje, Posavje Sauvignon Blanc, Laiki Rizling, Sivi Pinot, Malatinszky, Tif fiin, Vylyan, Jekl, Wunderlich Number of wineries 1,900 Traminec ffil Soml6 Red grape Modri Pinot Primorje ( B,O81ha) Planted vineyards 830 ha Top producers Verus, Curin-Prapotnik, g Sub-region Vipava Valley White grapes Furmint, Harslevel0, Juhfark, Kupljen, Kogl, Puklavec & Friends, Dveri Pax, Planted vineyalds 3,005ha Olaszrizling Ptujska Klet, Valdhuber White glapes Rebula, Sauvignon Blanc, Top producers Kreinbacher, Gyorgykov6cs, Malvazila lstriana, Zelen, Pinela ffi sub-region Prekmurje Inhauser, Somldi Apatsagi Pince Red grapes Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon Planted vineyards 965ha ffi Eger Top producers Batic, Tilia, Sutor, Lavrentid, white grapes La5ki Rizling, Chardonnay, Planted vineyards 3,91Oha Guerila Sauvignon Blanc, Renski Rizling White grapes Olazsrizling, Leenyka, lVuscat producer EI Sub-region Slovenska lstra Top Marof . Ottonel Planted vineyards 2,33'l ha Posavje Red grapes K6kfrankos, Cabernet White grape Malvazija lstriana & sub-regions Bizeljsko-Sremic (90Bha), Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Kadarka Red grapes RefoSk, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot Bela Krajina (367ha), Dolenjska (1,472ha) Top producels St Andrea, Tibor Gdl, Tdmas Top producers Primoz Rojac, Santomas white grapes Laiki Rizling, Sipon P6k, Thummerer

DECANTER . November 2011 | 49 cwjqYR&&1 & K&SYKRN M&JKSPffi

'Slovenia, first into the Eurozone after avoiding;the wars that rent former Yugoslavia, now offers a range of balanced, expressive whites'

Above: Verus makes top- Saints Hills quality whites from l2ha of Slovenia's top names Dingac, Central & Southern Dalmatia vineyards in Slovenia's by Robert Gorjak Globalrvine consultant Michel Rolland thinhs Liutomer-Ormoz region enough of Dingac, the key area for the Plavac Mali grape, to take Ernest Tolj, the 1,oung n'inemaker at Below: fledgling winery Dveri-Pax Saints Hills under his wing. The winery had its first Saints Hills in Croatia Staielska, Podravje vintage in 2006 and has since proven lhat lessons employs globalwine Dveri-Paxwas lormed in 2002, north of , are being learnt abou1. tannin handling and new consultant Michel Rolland very close to the Austrian border. Since its first . Winemal

52 | Novcmber 2071 . DECANTER CKNTRAL & K&SYKRTX KUreOPE

Above: the tower over the vineyards of Marjan Simiii, who helped revolutionise his sub-region of Goriska Brda in Slovenia's lstrian peninsula

wine revolution, helping to change its face and 'Hun{arg brins"'"'--' it to nremier sfafus at home and now abroad. Hungary's top names Improved grape management and selection, by Caroline Gilby MW SCTEAMS prolonged ageing in new wood, ageing on lees, extended skin contact for white varieties, and many T7'll terroir. OId other experiments and trials helped Simiii to stay l\relnDacner ahead of the pack. Today he tends 16ha of vines and Soml6 volcanoes rise more than Z5% of his production is exported. While Hungary is blessed with distinctive terroirs, and his distinctive, pure Pinot Noirs have been praised arguabll, the most dramatic is Soml6. where an from calmer, by both Steven Spurrier and Jancis Robinson MW extinct volcano rises from the plain, northwest of Simdid is a passionate ambassador for Rebula. His Lake Balaton. lt's one of Hungary's smallest wine flatter, grain- tlagship Iine. Opoka, made from marly soils. regions, historically dominated by artisan producers, includes a Rebula that is macerated for four days. too small to show off their great terroir. But that all covered and is one of the finest expressions of the grape I've changed in2002 with the arrival of engineer J6zsef ever tasted - full bodied, salty, minerally, slightly I(reinbacher. He now has 3Oha of terraced vineyards Iandscapes tannic, with refreshlng aciditv and an ability to age. on the south side of the hill, overlooked by dramatic Simiii has been pushing the limits for more than basalt pillars that help trap the sun's heat. The vines with vinegards 20 years and doesn'r look like stopping yel. are grown organically and are mostly local whites on their - Furminl. Harslevelrj. Iuh[ark and Olaszrizling- vinified alone. or in blends that rcflect the fiery shoulders' Verus intensity given by the mineral-rich soils. These are Stajerska, Podravje wines that take time to show their true depth. The story of Verus began in 2006 when three though the 2007s are drinking well now. f riends. t he f u I u re [ou nde rs. were sacl Hungary's Eger region in Ljutomer-OrmoZ, northeast Slovenia. The district has a high reputation for distinctive white grapes with delicate aromas. Their vision was to make wines from the estate's 12 hectares that express the origin and the grape as truly as possibie, which explains the name Verus - genuine, honest. ln their f irst vinlage. rhey immediarely set a new standard for dry Sipon (aka Furmint) in the region , - the 2002 was praised by Jancis Robinson MW Oz 1 Clarke and Steven Spurrier. With 60% of its ] production exported, Verus is a true international i player whose popularlty continues to increase. s 3 Robert Gorial< is the Decanter World Wine Awards E Regional Chair lor Slovcnia

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