Boškinac is a hotel, restaurant, and most importantly, winery on the island of Pag. Recently, they’ve been getting a good deal of press. Secret Dalmatia visited them not once, but twice. Taste of Croatia reviewed their Gegić 2009 last year as well. To top all that off, they were one of only two wineries on the Dalmatian coast (the other being Bibich) to be visited by Anthony Bourdain for his Croatian Coast show that will air in a week.
Naturally, the desire to get my hands on these wines was palpable and at the Zagreb Wine Gourmet Weekend, I was finally able to do just that.
Bijelo 2011 is made from Gegić (apparently also known as Debeljan), this is a native white grape to Pag. It’s very easy to drink and would pair well with any number of dishes. The nose is light, as well as the body, the later of which picks up something of a lightly sweet aspect on the palate. Despite this, it still presents good acidity that lingers in to the finish.
Crni 2009 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It’s bit surprisingly in that at first you don’t expect much, then the nose comes up and the body as well to present this rich, whole wine that rolls across the palate. While it obviously has a stronger body than the white, it still keeps a good continuity of acidity through it. At a certain point, it even seems to present some mineral aspects as well.
Obviously, getting a full feel for a wine in short time at a festival is difficult and at some point in the near future, we hope to spend a good deal more time with both of these wines. They’re producing something special out there on Pag–in addition to the cheese of course.
We talk a great deal more about Croatian grapes, wineries, and regions in our Dalmatian wine guide.
