Plavac Mali

Plavac Mali is the red grape of the Dalmatian coast, and its family tree solved a long argument. DNA work at the University of California confirmed it as the offspring of Dobričić and Crljenak Kaštelanski, and Crljenak turned out to be the same variety as Zinfandel and Primitivo. So Plavac Mali is not Zinfandel. It is Zinfandel's child.

It grows on the steepest and poorest ground in Croatia. The Dingač and Postup sites on the Pelješac peninsula are near vertical slopes of white limestone facing south over the Adriatic, taking heat from the sun, from the rock and from the reflection off the sea. Vineyards on Hvar and Brač work the same way. The vines are bush trained and the crop is tiny.

The wine that results is big: dark, high in alcohol, firm in tannin, tasting of dried figs, carob and Mediterranean scrub. Its weakness is uneven ripening, because the berries in one bunch mature at different rates, so a late pick to catch the stragglers pushes alcohol higher still. Handled well it is powerful and savoury. Handled badly it is raisined and hot.