Karst and Carsus. Red and white. Blatina and Žilavka. Family tradition and some welcome novelties. It is always interesting to experience the harvests on a vertical of a winery I follow. Such comparative tasting enables insight into the wine, but also stimulates careless conclusions.
Blatina is a single-sex variety that needs other varieties for fertilisation, with no more than 15% share in good versions. I hold the Škegro winery as fair in any sense.
Krš Red 2015 is a balanced fruit pleasure with cold character. At first like fruit bombs of the New World or rather drinkable Teroldegs, but luckily soon shows a character tendency towards earthy Blatina.
Krš Red 2014. Thin, short… quite inferior material of an extremely problematic harvest. Not only due to issue on the nose and vinegar acids on the palate. No content, they would say in Ljubuški.
Krš Red 2013. Spicy, peppery, earthy! There is fruitiness, but sophistication generally. This due to a dosed rustic style, ideally combined with slow baked beef ribs.
Krš Red 2012. Overripe notes, late fruit. Extract and fullness with a very ripe sweetness at the end. Like am overripe Plavac, but without the Tannins. Surprisingly not syrupy, but not far from it…
Krš Red 2010. Interesting nose. Firstly oxidative, but after a short formation in the glass shows structural virtues of an old wine, balance, embalmment… Tannins are unpolished, live and ripe! Wonderful.
Krš Red 2009. Pomegranate. Maraska cherries. Old wood?? Or incense… Opens up slowly, moving like tectonic plates, to present ripeness and breadth. The opulence of a warm year in a body which is authentic Blatina and very firm!
I regret not saving 2011. I think it would turn out quite good. Instead of the 2014 which is in last place. I didn’t expect the best wine to be 2009. In fact I would place 2013 and 2009 at the top, followed by 2010.
Instead of a conclusion, 6 different harvests of the same wine of the same winery and 6 very different wines. Some were helped by time to be better, some weren’t. But such differences pose the question of identity. What should a Blatina be?
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