red grape · regional staple
Plavac Mali
Dalmatia, Croatia
Say it
plah·vahtsmah·lee
The final 'c' in Plavac is pronounced 'ts' as in 'bats'; both syllables stress the first syllable of each word
On the palate
black cherryblackberryblack plumfigblack pepperdried herbs
How you spot it blind: Sun-baked limestone cliffs yield high-alcohol dark fruit with legendary firm tannins
The story
First written down · 1821, Dalmatia (Franz Ritter, Viticulture of the Austrian Empire)
DNA analysis published in 2001 confirmed Plavac Mali is a natural cross of Tribidrag (=Zinfandel/Primitivo) and Dobričić, overturning the prior belief that it was Zinfandel's ancestor.
Where it lives
Pelješac Peninsula (Dingač, Postup) · Hvar Island (Ivan Dolac, Sveta Nedjelja) · Brač Island · Vis Island · Komarna · Konavle
Shows up as
still redrosésweetDingačPostup