Štajerska Belina, Kraljevina, Lipovina, Red Veltliner, Green Silvanac, Neuburger… are some of the old middle European white sorts planted in the Plešivica vineyards in the first half of the last century, while locals wine makers use them today mostly to refresh the best sparkling wines. As a kind of secret spice they mix them with white naturally sparkling wines of the Tomac family (dozen sorts) and Šember (Yellow Plavec), while Drago Kurtalj just presented his forst rose, dominated by Pinot Noir, the rest being this Plešivica treasure.
“The Pinot Noir was macerated for a longer time, while the white sorts secured its freshness,” said Kurtalj of the sparkling wine with 12.6% alcohol, 7.5 grams of acids and 4 grams of unfermented sugars per litre. It was produced through classic method of long fermentation in the bottle. It is flaunting and fresh, but full of taste and quite complex scent, thanks to a two year aging on yeast. It will be excellent to sip during the upcoming Indian Summer and blended with dishes with dark meat poultry at festivities in November and December.
In the wine cellar in Nova Ves, the wonderful Zagreb subsidiary of the cellar from the Plešivica village, the Kurtalj family greeted guests with the rose and introduced the 2015 harvest wines. The Grey Pinot thrilled us, and the young Rhine Riesling is excellent, going along great with homemade ham with horseradish, pate and other salami with fresh cheese and cream.
The family has 3.5 hectares of vineyards and uses grapes from another 2.5 hectares of subcontractors. They also bottle Pinot Noir as a still wine, Graševina and Green Silvanac. The old stone cellar is a rare example of classicist architecture outside of towns. “There you can taste another new sparkling wine, white from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from 2015, to be aged four years on yeast,” Drago Kurtalj announced the premiere on Dragecovo, the name day gathering on November 4 on Plešivica.
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