Monastery Tvrdoš, Vranac
Trebinje, 2015 (750mL)
Regular price$36.00
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Monastery Tvrdoš, Vranac
As delicious and unique as today’s wine is, none of us anticipated the reaction it got when we offered the 2015 vintage last year. We’re talking about an obscure red wine from a Serbian Orthodox monastery in southern Herzegovina—not a Left Bank Bordeaux—so our expectations were somewhat muted when we hit “send” on the offer. But, lo and behold, our subscribers are even more savvy and adventurous than we thought, and case after case of Vranac from Monastery Tvrdoš flew out the door!
If you were among the many who took a chance on this wine, I’ll bet the farm that the sight of this label generated as much excitement on your end as it did on ours. Today’s 2016 was like an old friend come back for a visit, loaded with dark fruits and lots of Old World soul. It’s easy to forget that the wine cultures of places like Hungary, Georgia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina are just as deep as those of Western Europe—deeper, even—but modern history has been less kind to these places. The Vranac grape was planted in this region during the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Had things worked out differently for Bosnia-Herzegovina, might we all be celebrating Vranac as one of the world’s ‘noble’ reds? We’ll never know, but I’ll tell you this: This is a delicious and expertly crafted red that we’re thrilled to have back up on SommSelect. If you missed it the first time around, don’t let it pass you by this time!
The Tvrdoš monastery dates to the 13th century and its rustic stone cellars contain 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 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 its inky 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 2016, 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.
Aged for two years in those ancient wood barrels, the 2016 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 firms 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. It is accessible now but has the structure to age, should you want to grab a few bottles for conversation-piece drinking over the next 5-7 years. Try it with the classic Greek casserole, moussaka—not a Herzegovinian dish but a great pairing! Don’t miss this inimitable red!
