Plavac Mali

Plavac Mali is Croatia's most important red grape, grown on the Dalmatian coast and islands, and its name means small blue — a description of the berries.

Its genetics are interesting: DNA analysis has established it as a natural crossing of Tribidrag — the variety known as Zinfandel and Primitivo — with Dobričić, an old Dalmatian grape. That makes Plavac Mali the offspring of Zinfandel rather than a synonym for it, a relationship that was misunderstood for years during the search for Zinfandel's origins.

The wine is dark, powerful and high in alcohol, with blackberry, black cherry and dried fig, over notes of dried herbs, pepper, carob and a distinctly Mediterranean scrub character. Tannins are firm and acidity is moderate.

The two most celebrated sites are Dingač and Postup on the Pelješac peninsula — extraordinarily steep south-facing slopes running straight down to the Adriatic, where the vines receive sun directly, reflected off the sea, and radiated back from the white limestone. The grapes there ripen to very high sugar and the wines routinely reach fifteen or sixteen per cent alcohol.

Dingač was Croatia's first protected appellation, designated in 1961.

The grape ripens unevenly within the bunch, a trait inherited from its Tribidrag parent, and late-harvested examples often contain a proportion of raisined fruit that adds to the density and the alcohol.

It ages well for a decade and softens considerably.