Richard goes to Croatia – the tasting notes

Morphologically chastened by the editorial department for Richard goes to Croatia, I hereby present a pun-free account of the tastings encountered on my recent visit to Croatia. The Malvazija Istarska flight was tasted in situ in Istria, whereas the other two were held in the somewhat more sterile surrounds of the Hotel Westin in Zagreb. The notes are grouped by grape, then sorted by producer (sur)name.

Generally speaking, the 2008 vintage in Croatia was very difficult, with hail several times in July and August. A very dry spell followed, so the most successful wines were from winemakers with the...