Croatian wines have won no less than eight gold awards at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2009, one of the most prestigious and acclaimed competitions in the industry. The country won more gold medals than established rivals including the US, New Zealand and Portugal, Daily Telegraph noted.
The British daily writes that judges were impressed by the strong, tannic red wines that are produced on the Adriatic coast, which has a similar climate to the South of France. Howevere, the real stars were sweet, white wines, which won the bulk of the medals, the paper said.
Angela Muir, Master of Wine, who was in charge of judging the country's wines for the awards, commented for Daily Telegraph: "Croatia really was the discovery of this year – some great white wines, both dry and dessert, with bags of character and a whole bouquet of varieties and styles."
Mrs Muir described the sweet whites as "exclusive, expensive, high-end and they are no question up with the great Sauternes."
The white wines, including the dessert wines, are made from Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio or Traminer grapes as well as the local Graševina variety, similar to Italian Riesling.
Adam Lechemere, editor of Decanter.com, said: "This really puts Croatia on the map. They are reasserting their mastery of dessert wines. And if you are a fan of sweet white wines, you would be a fool to miss them.
"Croatia really can now take its place as a serious player in the wine world."
The daily also said that shoppers will need to find a specialist importer as no mainstream retailers sell Croatian wine in the UK.
Malcolm Gluck, the author of the Superplonk guide to wines, said for the paper: "The Balkan region is hugely interesting. They enjoy much the same climate as Italy and southern France so there is no reason why they can't produce just as good as wine as these areas."
The 2009 Decanter World Wine Awards attracted more entries this year than any other wine competition in the world, cementing its position as the world's biggest wine competition. In total 10,285 wines were entered, more than double the amount when the competition launched six years ago. The number of companies submitting wines increased by 23% to 2,240.
In total, Croatia won 8 gold, 5 silver and 11 bronze medals, and 3 commended awards at the competition. Below is the list of the awarded wines:
Decanter World Wine Awards 2009 - Croatia winners
Gold medal winners
Badel 1862 Graševina Daruvar 2007
Slavonija, Kontinentalna Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Sweet)
Bodren Château Bezanec Chardonnay 2007
Zagorie-medjimurje, Kontinentalna Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Sweet)
Bodren Cóuve 2007
Zagorie-medjimurje, Kontinentalna Hrvatska, Croatia
(White – Sweet)
Bodren Pinot Sivi 2006
Zagorie-medjimurje, Kontinentalna Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Sweet)
Bodren Rajnski Rizling 2007
Zagorie-medjimurje, Kontinentalna Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Sweet)
Ilocki Podrumi Traminac 2006
Kontinentalna Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Sweet)
Krauthaker Graševina Izborna Berba 2007
Slavonija, Kontinentalna Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Sweet)
Krauthaker Zelenac Kutjevo Izborna Berba 2007
Slavonija, Kontinentalna Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Sweet)
Silver medal winners
Korta Katarina Posip 2006
Srednja I Južna Dalmacija, Primorska Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Still)
Krauthaker Pinot Sivi 2008
Slavonija, Kontinentalna Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Still)
Vina Bibich Ambra NV
Sjeverna Dalmacija, Primorska Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Sweet)
Zlatan Otok Plavac Barrique 2006
Croatia
(Red - Still)
Zlatan otok Zlatan Posip Makarska 2008
Srednja I Južna Dalmacija, Primorska Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Still)
Bronze medal winners
Agrolaguna Cabernet Sauvignon Festigia 2006
Croatia
(Red - Still)
Agrolaguna Merlot Festigia 2007
Croatia
(Red - Still)
Belje PC Vinski Podrumi Goldberg Graševina 2007
Slavonija, Kontinentalna Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Still)
Belje PC Vinski Podrumi Goldberg Graševina - Late Vintage 2007
Slavonija, Kontinentalna Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Still)
Dingac Winery 2007
Croatia
(Red - Still)
Ilocki Podrumi Traminac 2007
Srijem, Croatia
(White - Still)
Korta Katarina Posip 2007
Srednja I Južna Dalmacija, Primorska Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Still)
Krauthaker Chardonnay Rosenberg 2007
Slavonija, Kontinentalna Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Still)
Krauthaker Graševina 2008
Slavonija, Kontinentalna Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Still)
Krauthaker Graševina Vidim 2008
Slavonija, Kontinentalna Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Still)
Vina Bibich Lucica Riserva 2006
Sjeverna Dalmacija, Primorska Hrvatska, Croatia
(White - Still)
Commended wines
Badel 1862 Ivan Dolac Selection 2005
Srednja I Južna Dalmacija, Primorska Hrvatska, Croatia
(Red – Sweet)
Dubrovacki Podrumi Plausus Plavac Mali 2006
Croatia
(Red - Still)
Krauthaker Pinot Crni 2007
Croatia
(Red - Still)