Story started by tasting the wines of Ivan Kovač Matela's friends: 2020 Grk by Ante Grgurević from Janjina and an Opol (rosé) made by the neighbor Kaštela, then moved on to the home turf. Matela's Maraština from the Dobroj kapljici line beautifully accompanied the shellfish, Pošip caressed the fish, and Crljenak Kaštelaski 2022. Tradicija opened the series of heavyweights.
No need for Red Bull, no need for Viagra
It's sooo juicy, you can feel the volatiles, purists will find out, and I'll admit that you can find hints of acetone in the glass. Regardless, I'd rather drink it than 99 percent of wines made according to mathematical formulas.
You don't need Red Bull with that wine, nor Viagra, agreed the male part of the team, causing the ladies to roll their eyes. Matela is not afraid of alcohol: Crljenak tradition has 15.5 percent, and he showed that it can be even higher with Shiraz 2022.
A fresh and soft wine with 16.1% of alcohol
Despite 16.1 percent, it doesn't even hint that it would burn the palate. It's fresh and soft, with six percent fine acids and 6.5 grams of unverified sugar per liter, and it lasts...
We continued with the reds, but lowered the alcohol level by a quarter. Babica 2019 with 12 percent alcohol showed more character than Babić 2019 with half a percent more.
Babica is Kaštel variety
Babica 2025 by Ivan's friend turned out to be even better: delicious, fresh, slightly spicy, very fine and above all cheerful. But let's return to Crljenak Kaštelanski Esenca 2021 with 16 percent alcohol.
Crljenak Kaštelanski Esenca 2021 is reminiscent of red wines from the Italian Valpolicella. It has 16 percent alcohol, it is fruity, fresh, tasty and it is very hard to find wine that is alike this one. A story about unique Matela's Sparkling you can reed here
Photos: Ivana Pranjić, Cork Croatia