The above title is my longtime saying, but when dealing with the Boškinac red coupage, I don’t need Cindy, fine on my own.
Probably one of the best Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot coupages in Croatia (if not beyond) has certainly marked the cellar of Boris Šuljić. When Sherry’s crew decided to organize a vertical tasting of Boris’ red coupages, it was one of the better decisions of the year.
We tried four wines; a red coupage of 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010. I believe many are crying for not being there. We started with the 2010 currently selling. A great wine, balanced, higher alcohol but not greatly – quite harmonious wine. Drink it with dark meats or heavy cheeses, you won’t go wrong by drinking it alone. The consummation of this wine is pure pleasure. We ran past it at this tasting too quickly as we all wanted to see what’s hidden in those older years. I won’t go into details on alcohol, aromas or taste, leave that up to reviewers present (Barać, Vinopija and all the wine stars – Andrić, Suhadolnik and Kozarčanin) to do better than me. All I will say: if you want to meditate in a hedonistic manner, this wine is the medium for it.
Going back to 2009. The Boškinac coupage is the best time machine. As soon as you taste it, it takes you back to the sun and sea and makes it clear why it was such a great year. Another wonderful wine with significantly more extract than 2010. Quite potent wine, but positively or better said: mighty wine. There is a huge aging potential for this wine – it’s still quite young to drink. This very potential and extract give it a note of archaicness which I enjoy. A special wine – hard to describe as tastes pass your palate, even harder to mention all associations going through one’s head. I would love to follow this wine each year and see it change and calm down. I believe we could grow old together. You can drink it with a wide palette of meals, but please don’t spill the experience, enjoy it on its own.
The 2007 wine will be hailed by most colleagues as the best we’ve tried on this vertical and I completely understand. A great harmonious wine still fantastically fresh, balanced to perfection. Much softer than 2009, but still potent. Always leaving you asking for another glass. A wine rhapsody without dilemma and a proof that Boris’ desire for seven years of aging before his wines reach the market is pure knowledge – the man simply knows, the wine is simply excellent. Yes, it’s somewhat of an issue it’s almost gone so not many will taste it, but Boris is on the right track and that’s what matters.
2006 is Boris’ most timid wine. It needs a long time to open up and show its real face, but when you see it, it lingers in your memory as a wine breathing the Pag territory. Probably his best wine style, but that’s a matter of taste. It is a perfectly elegant wine – as I drink it, I get the urge to ut on a tie and jacket. Several times during the tasting Boris mentioned how there is no romance in the production of wines and that it’s hard physical labor. I agree with him, but the final product is, dear Boris, infinitely romantic. As my esteemed colleague Ribafish says, it’s a wine to pursue a woman with successfully, but I repeat it is quite good for drinking alone.
Dear Boris Šuljić (a.k.a. red wines), God bless and live long.
Read the original Croatian article here.
