A stunning sparkling wine from Croatia.
A juicy, fresh and “wanting more” of each sip of Three Stars Brut 2014, the first champagne the Plešivica family presented to the public. Only a year of aging on yeast, but quite unusual and an excellent announcement of the 2015 harvest. That’s currently ripening in the cellar, around 4.500 bottles, to be expected no earlier than 2018.
“We’ll keep it on yeast for three years. Such is the maturity of true champagne. This was a test and we’re pleased. It’s based on Chardonnay, old Plešivica sorts and Rhine Riesling, with only 600 bottles filled so we can see if we can handle the technology” – says enologist Dominik Jagunić, who’s taking over the wonderful estate in Plešivica village near Jastrebarsko slowly from his father Velimir. They have a rural tourism with 80 places indoors and 40 outdoors with homemade food, mainly from the “meat laboratory” of grandfather Zvonimir.
They made themselves known among Plešivica wines with a Traminer from 2009. That dry wine gave a different view of a sort many connect to Ilok. Without a pronounced fragrance such as Ilok Traminers, but with more acids and more drinkable. Not a Traminer for special occasions, with only a glass or two with desserts, ripe cheeses or liver pate, but a superior wine for frequent enjoyment with all available meals easily prepared at home. Similar was the 012 harvest, with great expectations from 2014 and 2015. The latter is of an exceptionally pure taste, with a fragrance not quite aligned. It needs to wait a year or so as it can go along with the best dry Traminers from Elsace in France, Tramino in Italy and our Ilok. The Jagunić family also bottles Rizvanac, Chardonnay, Rhine Riesling and Grey Pinot, whose 2015 harvest was macerated on berries. It has a reddish color and is already excellent.
Dominik Jagunić was born in 1987, and excellent “harvest” for Croatian winemaking families. Dominik’s neighbor Josip Korak, Lovro Miklaužić of Moslavina, David Štampar of Međimurje, Igor Palčić from Istria were all born then… They all enrolled at the Faculty of Agronomy and work in their family wineries.
