Less than 20 years have passed since the publication of scientific papers in which experts wrote that Borgonja is the Istrian name of the French variety Gamay. Genetics, however, is constantly developing, so already in the 2015 Green Book of Croatian Original Vine Varieties it was stated that Borgonja and Frankovka are two names of the same grape and wine.
It grows in America, Australia, Japan...
This was obviously inserted just before printing, because only part of Istria is marked on the map showing the distribution of the variety. A little strange, given that Jancis Robinson in his epochal work Wine Grapes from 2012 mentions both varieties and mentions that there are much more of them in continental Croatia than in the northwestern part of Istria.
It is also grown in Romania, Hungary, Italy, Canada, USA, Australia and Japan. Be it Frankovka or Burgonja, it is closely related to the Starohrvatska Belina, the parent of more than 80 varieties, including Chardonnay. In the Europe, it is most abundant in the German Württemberg, where it is called Blauer Limberger, around Bergamo in Italy (Franconia) and Metlika in Slovenia (Modra Frankinja). In the Austrian Gradišće or Burgenland it makes really great wines.
She likes larger wooden barrels
There is more and more Frankovka in Serbia and the wines are getting better. Under the care of good winegrowers and winemakers, it produces some of the best continental red wines Croatia. You have to wait for it to fully ripen and it likes wooden barrels. The wines aged in large barrels become more elegant than those which were in barriques (225 liters) .
The discovery that Frankovka and Borgonja are the same variety opened the possibility for the longest Croatian wine road, which can start from Ilok and end near Novigrad in Istria. Ilok winery Trs has outstanding Frankovkas, as well as Ilok cellars. Feričanci, not far from Kutjevo, but on the other side of Papuk, must also be a station on the 600-kilometer-long road. There, the team of the former Feravino, new name is Enosophia, dedicated themselves to the production of red wines and Frankovka is their dominant variety.
The 2006 vintage is still excellent today
A recent tasting of archive Frankovkas at the Enosophia winery showed all the splendor that the variety has to offer. The 2006 Frankovka, aged in wood, is still an excellent wine today. Moslavina people also love Frankovka, and it is also found in the bermet of the Filipec family in Samobor, along with Portugizac, Kavčina and Zweigelt. Speaking of Zweigelt, it should also be said that its parents are Lovrijenac and Frankovka.
The first Istrian Franconian wines, which will continue to be called Borgonja there, were recently produced by Laguna and the Damjanić winery. This family also has very old vines, their grandfather's. They yield only 0.6 kilograms of grapes, but that makes the wine better. The wine is aged in wooden barrels and is suitable for all seasons and different dishes, from grilled sardines to winter game goulash. At last year's major Franconian wine evaluation, organized in Zagreb by Ivana Pranjić, Borgonja Rožoljo 2019 from the Agapito winery from Buzet was declared the best Croatian.
Taverns and villas bear her name
The name Borgonja is also used by several taverns and restaurants in Istria, as well as the beautiful Villa Borgonja near Motovun. We named it after the grapes that our grandfather grew and we will not change the name. If we were in northern Croatia, it would be Villa Frankovka, said owner Željko Linc.
Photos: Matej Marjanović i Bakhov sin
