“On the first nose are wooden barrel and bacon, coming probably from the wood too. As the wine opens, spices come forward, this time red pepper, with the bacon gone… In the taste the alcohol is finely blended, even more, the 14.5% is not felt at all. It’s finely fruity, dominated by a very ripe sour cherry, while pleasant acids give a wonderful freshness,” said renowned wine critic Ivo Kozarčanin about the 2012 Frankovka Miraz.
It was love at first taste, so it wasn’t difficult to convince Ivo Kozarčanin to envision and lead an original workshop at Vinocom, international wine and culinary festival in Zagreb’s Esplanade hotel which thrilled around forty wine lovers.
The red treasure of Slavonia – Miraz brand of wines – was the title of the workshop which hinted of only the best from Feravino.
On the road to the magical world of reds, an excellent beginning was the young 2016 Frankovka. Fruity, soft and fresh, strong and lively sour cherry colour with purple tones which reflect its youth and precision of technology.
Experienced wine connoisseurs at a blind tasting with an intriguing title “Fifth Element – earth, water, fire, air, Leeloo,” attempted to discover what the wines were. With more or less success, but always with equal zeal for all of five offered wines. Descriptions such as – interesting, fascinating, excellent, mighty, thunder were common in this part of the workshop.
In the “World is my Oyster,” a spectacular discovery of tasted wines took place along with a paraphrase of Shakespeare’s “I can do it all.” French Merlot, Austrian Frankovka, Australian Syrah, New Zealand Pinot Nero, “space Cabernet Sauvignon,” are varieties which gave excellent results in Feričanci.
A full and strong Merlot 2012, with a deep scent and fruity character, blended finely with young cow cheese. Along with the mighty Frankovka Miraz 2012 from the beginning of this story, of intense and long lasting taste, came goat cheese; with a dense and warm Syrah Miraz 2012, cow cheese with red peppers; with the interesting Pinot Nero Miraz 2012, cow cheese with truffles. The strong Cabernet Sauvignon Miraz 2012, called the king of red wines and wine of energy, came a two-year-old cow cheese.
“If, for example, you cover goat cheese with pumpkin oil, and cow cheese with honey, the experience of these wines is even more intense,” said Rene Bakalović, a gastronomy expert who was in charge of carefully selecting cheeses for the occasion.
Wine lover surely hold in their collections at least one of these reds, ideal for festive occasions, but also intimate moment of relaxation and enjoyment.
Nothing less was expected from Feravino, the most awarded producer from the heart of Slavonia, whose team was joined this year by Marijan Knežević, one of the best Croatian enologists.
“The very tasting of these wines showed how varieties cultivated in ideal positions give excellent results. All of the five wines in their aroma profile have 70 percent of common characteristics, grace to a very warm 2012. On the other hand, it was easy to recognise the very typical Merlot or strong Cabernet Sauvignon whose structure gave it away,” Knežević pointed out.
For all other presentation visitors, the red treasure of Slavonia will remain a cherished memory.
