Croatian Wines Come To Hong Kong

 

With the barriers to entry into the Hong Kong wine market literally nil, the door into Hong Kong’s wine market has been firmly wedged open and with this comes a flow of wines that most people would otherwise never have been able to try. The diversity of wine since the cut in duty in 2008 has exploded with wines from places such as Russia, Romania and now, Croatia being seen on the local market.

I was fortunate enough to sit down with Viktorija Cicak from the Croatian Wine Shop here in the city (not an actual retail shop mind you) and taste our way through a plethora of wines from Croatian winery Enjingi.

The first thing I noted was the alcohol levels. Wow, they are not shy of making wines that are above 15 per cent - and I’m talking about their white wines! One wine they have, made from the Grasevina white grape comes in at 14.9 per cent whist their Pinot Gris is also 14.9 per cent but the Sauvignon Blanc is a staggering 15.6 per cent. Not the way I had planned to start my day, but alcohol levels aside, I had a job to do.

The Enjingi winery was founded in 1890 in the village of Hrnjevac on the slopes of Mount Krndija in Croatia by Koloman Enjingi and the winery has been in the family ever since. Initially, the vineyards were just in the business of viticulture and grape growing, selling its grapes to cooperatives to make bulk wine but in 1972, the great-grandson of Koloman, Ivan, started selling bottled wine – a practice that brought fame and success to the winery.

The winery plants and grows a diverse range of grape varieties, all of which go into the wines they make. Varieties include the usual suspects, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, but also Grasevina, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Zweigelt and Muller Thurgau.

To put their own mark on the wines, there is no use of French oak in their wines, instead, they use Slavonian oak from northeast Croatia. What’s notable is that Slavonian oak is also used a lot in Italian winemaking in Piedmont. The wood itself has very tight grains and compact fibres usually resulting in much larger barrels which impart soft tannins and a distinct flavour to the wines.

What amazed me most about the wines was that there was great balance in all of them, despite my pre-conceptions about the alcohol levels (which evidently turned into mis-conceptions). The Sauvignon Blanc was really very nice with an oxidized nose rather like sherry but definitely something I would drink again. This was a 2009 vintage and I reckon this could go at least another 3 or 4 years, probably longer!

They do make a varied range of wines from red and white to sweet and Grappa, the sweet wines were delightful, especially the 2006 Riesling Select Harvest which had a great balance of sweetness and acidity whist the Sauvignon Blanc Select Harvest 2006, while tipping the scales at 17.5 per cent alcohol was fantastic. The 2004 Gewurztraminer Select Harvest was mind-blowingly good, but not one for a pre-lunch tasting as this one came in at 17.9 per cent alcohol, certainly (other than their Grappa) the most alcoholic wine they make.

Of the reds, I found the Zweigelt the most interesting and most palatable. It was easy on the palate and with medium tannins and good balance it’s certainly something I would re-visit one day. They make a wine called Venje, a blend of five red grapes from a stellar vintage, in this case 2003. The grapes that go into it are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zweigelt, Pinot Noir and Frankovka and it really seems to work! It has a little bit of sweetness to it and, honestly, I was truly pleasantly surprised.

Finally, the Grappa which as 46 per cent alcohol was a bit too much before lunch. It’s fiery and hot, more like a cognac but with a stunning orange colour. Made from the Zweigelt grape it’s certainly interesting but more probably going to succeed in the mainland China market where they like their potently alcoholic spirits.

In all, it was an interesting and certainly informative and eye-opening tasting, one that will not be forgotten in a hurry, but also won’t have me rushing back to taste them in the morning! I thought there were certainly some stand-out wines and certainly some that would be easily forgotten. The only glitch is that the company has only been in Hong Kong for two weeks and there are no stocks to buy right at this moment. Once they have landed I will for sure let the adventurous one’s of you know – until then, I’ll be dreaming of the 17.9 per cent Gewurtz…it really was delightful.

You can contact Viktorija with questions and interest at viktorija@croatianwineshop.com