Palate-wise his Dingač wines, in contrast to the majority other premuim Plavac wines from Pelješac, are  almost completely rounded, with a lingering, sweet and fruity aftertaste. In his cellar, which contains barriques, Kiridžija’s bottling plant produces around 5000 bottles of Dingač. These practically microscopic quantities mean that this is a wine which should be bought and consumed wherever and whenever it can be found. Vedran Kiridžija, who also produces and bottles about 6000 bottles of Plavac, is particularly and justifiably proud of his 2003 vintage.

One innovation introduced by Grgić was his introduction of a system of the rigorous selection of grapes which local wine producers had not dared to implement. His popularity was certainly unaffected by his habit of turning away individual grape suppliers literally from the doors of his winery if he considered their grapes not in a good enough condition. That is also among the reasons why his Pošips are vastly better that those produced by any other Dalmatian wine maker from this same indigenous Croatian variety.

In the late 1990s, before the new wave of young Istrian wine makers had won recognition and before Enjingi and Krauthaker raised their standards to their present level, Grgić’s Pošip was the only Croatian dry white wine truly relevant in world terms. The Plavac produced by this famous Californian Croat has shown great potential for maturing. Specifically, the 1999 vintage has now reached its full form, while the most recent vintages demand few more years of aging in bottles. Grgić produces some 20,000 bottles each of barrique-matured Pošip and Plavac. Part of his Croatian programme is exported to the USA through his Grgich-Hills Californian Winery and still achieve rather good grades in American wine publications. His Cabernets consistently command relatively high prices and his contribution to the development of the Californian wine industry will remain a part of the history of Napa Valley.

In describing Hectorovich Prošek (four stars), named after Petar Hektorović of Hvar, a well known Croatian poet of the Renaissance period, La Revue du Vin de France used only superlatives in reference to its richness and thickness. Hectorovich is produced from local white grape varieties such as Maraština, which are left to dry from three to six months prior to vinification. Even though the wine is made wholly from dried grapes and containing one-third boiled mast it is still a wonderful dessert wine,replete with aromas of candied orange, honey, dried apricots, dried figs and walnuts. Tomić believes that in the not too distant future, when he is able to vinify Prošek exclusively from dried raisins, he will be able to achieve an even higher quality.

Although in all honesty one must say that Hectorovich Prošek as it is now is a beautiful wine with flavors of candied orange, honey, dried apricots, dried figs and walnuts. La Revue du Vin de France also gave very favorable reviews to Tomić’s 1999 Plavac barrique, which differs from other wines produced from Plavac mali in its velvety elegance, mellow and integrated tannins, lower alcohol content (c. 13.5% vol.) and a somewhat less obvious, characteristic varietal aroma of Plavac mali.

This is a wine produced almost in the style of a Supertuscan. At the time of writing the 2003 and 2004 vintages can be found on the market. Regrettably, Tomić produces both his Prošek and his Plavac barrique in small quantities (less than 10,000 bottles each) and so they can be sound only in top-of-the range restaurants and in several leading wine boutiques. In his Bastijana Winery Andro Tomić, formerly the leading oenologist in Dalmatia for the Zagreb-based Badel barrique company and who spent six months in the wine cellars of France, also produces a dessert wine, Hektor, which in its method of production (addition of strong alcohol which arrests fermentation) and its aroma is a kind of Croatian Porto.

His range of products includes several Plavac wines of lesser significance. Of late he has begun experimenting with Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, which he grows on a small (total of 1.5 hectares) vineyard situated in the small, picturesque islets of Pakleni otoci, near the island of Hvar.

But bearing in mind that Zlatan plavac Gran Cru is a totally original, unique and undoubtedly precious wine, one should taste it wherever its can be found. Zlatan Plenković, a wine maker and wine grower on the island of Hvar, also produces two white wines: Zlatan otok and Zavala and Zlatan plavac rosé, but neither of these is worthy of any special interest. Besides his inferior white wines Plenković also produces and bottles an exquisite, thick, sumptuous Prošek.

In contrast to the majority of other Prošeks, which are based on a blend of white varieties, his is produced from Plavac mali. From about eighty hectares of vineyards the Zlatan Plenković Winery, founded in the early 1990s (one of its founders was oenologist Andro Tomić, the most prominent wine maker on the Dalmatian islands alongside Zlatan Plenković), produces around 400,000 bottles of wine per year, which even this is unable to meet an ever growing demand. We sincerely hope that market demands will not have a negative impact on the truly high quality standards of Zlatan plavac. Operating within the Plenković Winery is the Jidro Restaurant.

Today it is not possible to say with any degree of exactness how much of the Pelješac peninsula is under vineyards (as, after all, is the case elsewhere in Croatia). Dingač is located on the southern slopes, on calcified soil facing the sea, which means that all day they are exposed not only to direct sunlight but also to the reflection of the sun off the sea. In order to facilitate the harvesting of grapes at Dingač, some thirty years ago a 380 metre-long tunnel was built through the hill linking the location with the winery at Potomje, the site of the Dingač Agricultural Cooperative, until the emergence of private wine makers after 1990 the only producer of wine of the same name and the production of which at one time was limited to 1200 hectolitres per year. Adjacent to Dingač is the locality of Postup, the second most valuable location on Pelješac, with similar characteristics and with a slightly larger production.

Just as on Dingač the only variety grown here is Plavac mali.

Owing to Plavac mali a significant wine stage emerged in Central and Southern Dalmatia, dominated by producers from Hvar and Pelješac. While the Plavac wines from Hvar are less aggressive, more fruity and round bodied, those from Pelješac have a higher alcohol content, are more robust, with stronger, more pronounced tannins. There are, of course, exceptions, but generally speaking this division, also based on the type of soil, stands.

An exception here is Mario Mendek, a Zagreb vintner recently turned wine-maker, who is now producing what is to date the most unusual Frenchstyle Plavac from Pelješac-grown grapes. Mendek’s wines are still too new and are generally unavailable, which is why we have not included them in the review of wines and wine producers. The second important fact concerning Plavac mali is that it yields premium wines only on steeply sloping locations; Plavac mali grown in the lowlands yields significantly inferior wines. The superior Plavac mali does indeed possess the character of Dalmatia: it is hot, temperamental, sumptuous, tart, somewhat rustic and, quite simply, unique.

If a Prošek that is made to less than the highest standards was able to delight French wine critics and sommeliers, we can only imagine what reaction an ideally produced Prošek would cause.

What, in fact, is Prošek? Well, it is a dessert wine which, in ideal circumstances, should be vinified from dried grapes, mostly a combination of white varieties such as Maraština, Grk and Vugava, but also from lesser known indigenous varieties. It contains between 15 and 17 vol. alcohol and over 100g of unfermented sugar.

Prošek can also be produced from Plavac mali, as Zlatan Planković is proving with no small success. In practice, however, there are precious few producing Prošek from dried raisins only. Even Andro Tomić makes his Hectorovich with 30% of cooked must. He does however say that he is soon to begin the vinification of Prošek exclusively from dried grapes, and goes on to suggest that there should be two categories of Prošek: a more expensive version, made completely naturally, and a less expensive version to which cooked must could be added.

Whatever the case, Prošek, this great sweet wine of Dalmatia, which blends ideally with a range of cakes containing walnuts, almonds and dried figs, could become almost as important for the Croatian wine industry as Tokay is for the Hungarians. In short, Prošek possesses the potential of assuming the role of the most elite Croatian export wine.