Last Wednesday in Poreč an award ceremony was held from this year’s rating at Vinistra, the most significant wine competition in Croatia. Laguna from Poreč won a high 8 gold medals, its best success so far. Out of those eight, four medals went to Malvazijas, one of them for the 2015 Vižinada. Laguna’s Vižinadas have set new standards in the previous years and directions for the development of aged, noble Malvazijas. One of them was included in the program of the masterclass workshop by the great Steven Spurrier, held on Thursday morning in the Parentium hotel.
Laguna’s successes are important as they demonstrate that even the large scale can be lovely and attractive. Laguna was viewed in Istria and in most of the Croatian wine and catering scene for too long as a huge producer of industrial wines. When we mentioned such an image to Milan Budinski, their chief oenologist, the man coldly laughed and said he had worked in California in wineries whose cellars held thousands and thousands of barriques, and whose wines were highly rated and highly priced. “I truly feel it is pointless to claim the so-called large scale production annuls or endangers quantity,” said Budinski.
Laguna’s rise in quality began with Castello in 2012. This red cuvee won a gold medal and regional trophy at Decanter’s World Wine Awards. Year upon year, Laguna’s wines in various price ranges successfully proved themselves at international and domestic competitions: we especially noticed the cheap, supermarket red coupage Terra Rossa won two Decanter silver medals, an unusual success considering the price of around 40 kuna.
Laguna’s Malvazijas in the Festigia line in the meantime became equal to Coronica or Kozlović, while special editions such as Vižinada entered the rank of unique Istrian white wines such as Sveti Jakov, Antiqua, Anno Domini, La Prima, Santa Lucia or Crna Zemlja. Eight golds at Vinistra proves that even nearly 600 hectares of vineyards can produce a superior identity product.
Translated from Plava Kamenica, for the original click here.
