Rizman Tribidrag 2017

About The Winery

We are a Croatian family winery that makes wine from organically grown grapes from our own vineyards. Most of the grapes that we grow are autochthonous varieties. The winegrowing tradition of the Štimac family dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, which is when the first vineyards were planted by Mijo Popich Rizman, whose name the winery still bears today. At new locations in the youngest wine-growing area in Croatia, Komarna in the region of Dalmatia, the Rizman Winery owns 22 hectares of their own vineyards and 10 hectares of olive groves. The love and dedication that we apply to making our wines and oil, together with our high production standards that control entire process, from pruning to the filling of wine and oil bottles, guarantee the superior quality of our products.

Viticulture

The grapes for this wine are of the autochthonous Tribidrag variety (with a smaller content of up to 15% of the international variety Tempranillo), which is known as Zinfandel in the USA or as Primitivo in Italy. They are sourced from our own organic vineyards in the Komarna winegrowing area. The vineyards are located on south-facing slopes with an incline of up to 30%, at an altitude between 50 and 100 metres. The earth is karst-like and consists of limestone with a small content of soil. The yield of wine per hectare is quite small and amounts to 18 to 27 hectolitres, which results in concentrated fruitiness and freshness. Irrigation is performed only in case of exceptional drought.

Winemaking and Aging

Processing and vinification begin with the selection of grapes at our winery after they have been picked by hand. The owners perform this selection personally to make sure that only the best grapes are sent for further processing. The wine undergoes alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in a tank under controlled conditions. After this, it is aged 8-10 months under professional supervision in old barrique barrels made from French and American oak. After bottling, it is aged for at least 6 months before market release.

Tasting Notes

Youthful deep ruby colour leads to a nose that is intriguing and complex displaying notes of ripe dark plums, figs, prunes, dark chocolate and attractive spicy notes. On the palate it is generous, ripe and juicy but very well-built with firm fine grain tannins and balanced, refreshing acidity underpinning the overall structure leading to a pleasant finish.

Serving Notes

This is a great wine to accompany rich stews, red meat dishes and a variety of cheeses.