Monastery Tvrdoš, Vranac
Trebinje, Bosnia-Herzegovinia 2015 (750mL)
Regular price$25.00
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Monastery Tvrdoš, Vranac
Every time we get together and taste with our friend Eric Danch of Blue Danube Wines, it’s a new adventure through mostly uncharted territory—well, uncharted by us, anyway. His is an importing company devoted primarily to Central and Eastern European wines, whose obscure native grapes and consonant-laden family names are unfamiliar to most sommeliers, never mind the average consumer.
We forget that the wine cultures of places like Hungary, Romania, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, from which today’s wine hails, are every bit as rich and deep as those of Western Europe—deeper, even—because modern history has been less kind to these places. Which is to say: Today’s Vranac from Monastery Tvrdoš is not a “new” wine. It’s a modern expression of a place with centuries of wine history. Had things worked out differently for Bosnia-Herzegovina, might we all be celebrating Vranac as one of the world’s ‘noble’ reds? Or studying the rocky, porous, limestone-infused karst soil of southeastern Herzegovina with the same devotion as the dirt in Burgundy? If you love not only good wine but what wine represents—history, culture, geography, geology—you need to try this 2015. Not only is it a wholly unique red wine experience, it’s a dark-fruited, deeply savory red I’ll happily return to again and again. I’ve said it many times before, but still: There’s no reason to drink generic labels when wines like this exist at this price.
Aged for two years in those ancient wood barrels, the 2015 Tvrdoš Vranac is a nearly opaque ruby-black in the glass, with garnet reflections. The nose is powerful and perfumed, leading with notes of crushed blackberry, cranberry, wet rose petals, dark chocolate, cedar, and exotic spice notes galore. It is deep, rich, and tangy up front then buttons up into something tangy and refreshing, with lots of floral notes on the finish. It benefits from 30+ minutes in a decanter before service, as well as a cooler temperature (60 degrees) to accentuate its fruit character and moderate its acidity. Characteristic of the 2015 vintage all over Europe, this is plenty ripe and accessible now, and is most definitely a “food wine” as opposed to a “cocktail wine.” I’d say go whole hog and do an ultra-authentic “Bosnian Pot” (Bosanski Lonac) to go with it. The melding of flavors will not only be classic but spot-on. Enjoy!
We forget that the wine cultures of places like Hungary, Romania, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, from which today’s wine hails, are every bit as rich and deep as those of Western Europe—deeper, even—because modern history has been less kind to these places. Which is to say: Today’s Vranac from Monastery Tvrdoš is not a “new” wine. It’s a modern expression of a place with centuries of wine history. Had things worked out differently for Bosnia-Herzegovina, might we all be celebrating Vranac as one of the world’s ‘noble’ reds? Or studying the rocky, porous, limestone-infused karst soil of southeastern Herzegovina with the same devotion as the dirt in Burgundy? If you love not only good wine but what wine represents—history, culture, geography, geology—you need to try this 2015. Not only is it a wholly unique red wine experience, it’s a dark-fruited, deeply savory red I’ll happily return to again and again. I’ve said it many times before, but still: There’s no reason to drink generic labels when wines like this exist at this price.
I mean, how could we not offer this wine? It’s made at a Serbian Orthodox monastery dating to the 13th century and ages in barrels that look as if they were constructed at the beginning of time. The area surrounding the monastery’s home village, Trebinje, dates to the earliest Greek colonies on the Adriatic coast, and the monastery itself was widely known for the quality of its wines as early as the Middle Ages. Although there’s still wine being aged in the original, centuries-old stone cellar, the modern-day operation has expanded to include a state-of-the-art winemaking facility and a newer aging cellar (containing newer barrels). In terms of place and grape variety, this is as ‘ancient’ as wine gets, but its crafting is modern and clean.
The Vranac grape, thought to be native to Macedonia, is one of those red grapes with such a dark color you expect a wine of massive structure; in fact, for all of its bloody intensity of appearance, it typically produces a very bright, medium-weight wine with crisp acidity and fairly mild (but present) tannins. Situated about three hours southwest of Sarajevo, Trebinje is just 20 miles from the Adriatic coast, with a rocky, limestone-rich soil composition known as karst lending firm structure to whites and reds alike. Tasting this 2015 Vranac, I’m reminded of some of the brisk and deeply hued reds of Italy/Slovenia’s Carso/Kras region, and of Austrian Blaufränkisch as well. There’s a dark, iron-rich savor to the wines combined with bright florals, tangy red and black fruit, and a dash of Mitteleuropean spices such as paprika and cinnamon.
