It’s generally assumed that the island of Korčula is heavily invested in making lots of Pošip. This full-bodied, delectable, native white grape has been happily growing on Croatia’s coast for ages. While the grape does indeed grow very well in Korčula and make a very fine wine, it was something of a shotgun marriage for it to be there given that, prior to the Yugoslavian era, there were all manner of grapes growing on the island including other whites like Grk. Another grape that happened to be quite happy there was Plavac Mali, but like the others, it was torn out as the government decided that Pošip was the grape to be planted and fed in to the collectives, despite the highest grade Plavac Mali in Croatia growing 30 minutes down the coast in the Dingač region.
Plavac Mali is making something of a comeback on the island though. As noted in our Dalmatia enotourism guide, the large winery, Blato 1902 has been growing it for some time, although in more of a bulkish capacity. But now, Vinarija Kunjasić (who already produce a very nice Pošip) are releasing a Plavac Mali as well that they’re growing on Korčula near Smokvica.
Pagadebit 2008 is a small production of just 1,000 bottles. It’s easy on the easy nose as well as the palate and is quite quaffable, expressing itself in a light fashion despite having a decently high (for Plavac anyways) alcohol of 13.7% alcohol. While something of a small wine at the moment, there could be a good deal of potential for this wine as the vines age and gain a touch more depth. As it stands, it’s a solid meal wine that still boasts a bit of character.
By the way, the name, “pagadebit” is a local synonym for Plavac Mali that’s bizarre given that there’s a white grape called Debit primarily grown on the mainland. Islands… their dialects are really like nothing else.
3 responses to “Plavac Mali on Korčula?”
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And Plavac Mali from Luka Krajančić? More polished and smooth than Plavac from Pelješac and Hvar. I don’t know what he does to cultivate all these wild tannins. Too bad there aren’t many bottles of this delicacy.
Yes, I’d heard that Krajančić was making a small run of Plavac Mali as well, but as of yet I have to get my hands on it. This bottle was from the Wine Gourmet Weekend. It’s good to see the producers there branching out because, while I do enjoy Pošip, pinning all your wines to one grape is a bit limiting.
On Korčula I prefer Grk over Pošip, I just prefer Grk’s bitter finish over Pošip’s heavy oiliness. Grk from Cebalo is more traditional and gorgeous, while Bire makes it more in “modern Istrian Malvasia” style – there’s too much stuff in the nose. And it’s amazing to see “francs pied” vineyards in sandy soil near Lumbarda.
But Pošip by Zlatan Plenković from Makarska will surely create a lot of buzz on Korčula because it may prove that coastal Pošips, due to cooler climate during the night, may be more balanced, fresher and easier to drink than the ones from this green island.