Kalazić winery is one of the many wineries in Baranja taking advantage of the ideal position of the hill Banska kosa (Bansko hill), which we already wrote about as the centuries old location for wine-growing. The river Danube also flows in the vicinity and its influence on the micro-location is quite significant, as it cools the vineyards significantly during the hot summer days and nights. And the southern, sunny slopes of Banska kosa are the location where Kalazić winery has had their vineyards and has commercially been making wine since 2007.
They have 16.5 hectares of vineyards, producing around 150,000 bottles of wine per year, and the winery is run by Slavko Kalazić, owner and chief winemaker. Their vineyards are maintained in a manner that allows for the optimal grape quality with the low yield, and using exclusively eco-friendly approach in the vineyard. Their varieties are (quite expectedly) fully continental: graševina, pinot grigio, pinot blanc, pinot noir, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, traminac, rhein riezling and cabernet sauvignon. As you can see, they have mostly international varieties, and most of their wines are varietal, with two exceptions, a white and a red cuvee.
They have three label lines of their wines, the basic line, the silver line and the premium line, although most of their wines manage to get into the premium wine category. Basic line offers graševina, all three pinots, chardonnay, both sauvignons and traminac (with unexpected 16% alcohol content!) at very affordable prices, with a bottle being in the 5€ price range. Those wines are probably among the best value for money wines in Croatia, and sometimes it’s said that they are too cheap for their quality.
Silver line is a bit more expensive (but not much, though, the difference is around 1€ or so), those are lighter wines (graševina, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, Riesling and rose made with frankovka).
The premium line consists of the wines that have been winning awards and medals both in Croatia and abroad. Red wines in the premium line are aged in oak barrels, as is the chardonnay. There’s also a late harvest cabernet sauvignon, and select harvest of graševina (both semi-sweet and with quite a lot of alcohol). And then there are two of most famous Kalazić wines, Batina cuvees, a white and a red blend. White blend is made with sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, chardonnay and traminac, and it’s an incredibly powerful wine, winning many medals, especially the famous 2011 vintage. The red blend is merlot and sauvignon blanc, a classic blend.
Recently, Kalazić has invested into the new winery, and having moved from a small winery that was the limiting factor in their wine production, we must wait and see what will be the newest innovation coming under their (also new!) labels.
