wineries

Barun 100+ is sparkling wine made from grapes over 100 years old! On September 15, 2020, we tasted it for the first time

Published: 15.09.2025

Croatia Tastings Bregovita Hrvatska Pjenušava vina Barun

Ivo Kozarčanin

Bakhov Sin

Five years ago, on this very day (September the 15th), we tasted for the first time the 100+ Vallée des Cardinaux 2018 sparkling wine from the Barun winery in Brezarić, near Krašić. We were lending a hand in the cellar, there was plenty of work during the harvest, and opened the bottle for some refreshment. It was named 100+ because the grapes came from the Gorice vineyard, which is over a century old. In keeping with old traditions, more than ten varieties were planted there, including Štajerska Belina, Graševina, Kraljevina, White Muscat, Yellow Muscat, Plavec Žuti, and Plemenka. Mara and Josip Barundić decided to set aside the grapes from those roughly 400 vines to produce a special sparkling wine, acting on a suggestion made by the three of us who were there helping out. Also present were Ivan Dropuljić, director of the Vino.com Festival, and the renowned wine critic and judge Željko Suhadolnik. The idea had come to us while pruning the vineyard together in April 2014.

Barun 100+ is sparkling wine made from grapes over 100 years old! On September 15, 2020, we tasted it for the first time

The harvest took place on August 24, 2018, and eleven months later, the base wine was used to fill 252 magnums (1.5-liter bottles), where the secondary fermentation was initiated. The sparkling wine matured on fine lees within the magnums until October 2022. During disgorgement and preparation for market, no dosage (liqueur d'expédition) was added to adjust aromas or sweetness. Consequently, the wine bears the zero dosage label and is bone-dry. It was unveiled to the public just before Christmas 2022 at the Rooftop Lateral restaurant in Zagreb, where it paired beautifully with lime and red-pepper-marinated carpaccio of salmon trout from the Žumberak region.

Officially, it no longer exists today. Unofficially, there might still be a few. We also filled a small amount of standard 0.75-liter bottles so we could taste it every now and then without dipping into the official stock, and perhaps a magnum or two got lost in the cellar as well. Do you remember, Barundićs?