Zlatak Crljenak Kaštelanski (Zinfandel) 2007

Say what you want about Twitter (for what's it's worth, I have quickly tired of it), but I got this wine for free off of Twitter. I just happened to be perusing my timeline at work, and Blue Danube Wines, whom I was following because of the Babich by Bibich, sent out a tweet saying that for the next twelve hours, anyone who went to their site, found "a Croatian Zinfandel," and ordered a bottle would get it for free. Hence this wine. It's supposed to retail for 40$ US, which is a bit steep I think. However, this wine has good pedigree. Crljenak Kaštelanski was apparently almost extinct until Zlatan Plenkovic, researchers from the University of Zagreb and Paul Draper (of Ridge Vineyards fame) revived it. This is the first commercial vintage of this wine.

I wasn't really sure what to expect on opening this wine...haven't had much wine from Croatia, and it's been a while since Sarah and I had a Zinfandel. As in years. I think I may have had a random glass of Twisted Oak or something at my parents a while back, but my memory is foggy. I wouldn't say that we dislike Zinfandel, we just quickly got interested in other stuff and Zinfandel fell by the way. Of course, we aren't big fans of hugely fruity, hugely ripe and extracted wines, and I suppose that has hurt Zinfandel (seems that that style is more often than not, the norm). Despite all this, we went into this wine with a mind open for a new experience. Immediately, you are hit with a spicy nose filled with strawberry and berry fruits--reminded me a bit of cherry coke (if I'm being honest). Eventually, I got some licorice, and some earth tones as well. This is a big, fruity wine. Initially fairly tannic and chewy, this wine eventually settles down and mellows. It stays rather chewy, with a tannic bite at the end, but with a decent amount of acidity, and a nice finish. This wine is flirting with the edge of being overripe, but it's pretty good and stays on the right side, in my opinion. No raisin (fine in port, but in still wine?), and it has decent acidity. I don't know that I would have been enthralled if I had paid 40$ for it. Let's face it, for 40$, you could be drinking Ridge, you could be drinking some really good shit from the Rhone, or you could have 2 kick-ass bottles of Chinon. Still, this is an interesting wine, and we both liked it. We've got to seek out more wines from Croatia. B