What?
Juice 2017 Ahearne Vino, Wild Skins, Hvar, CRO
Grape 40% Bogdanuša, 40% Kuc, 20% Pošip
Farming Traditional
Tasting Note An intense bouquet, scents of almond blossom, rennet apples, a faint spiciness and a hint of crusty bread. The palate is dry, crisp and elegant, with a very persistent finish.
Who?
Jo Ahearne, an English born Master of Wine, has been making wine on the Croatian island of Hvar since 2014. In 1998, she completed her oenology degree in Australia where she worked a vintage at Charles Melton in the Barossa. After some years spent consulting across Australia and Europe, Jo decided to make her own wine and she saw huge potential in Hvar’s top vineyard sites, moving there full-time in 2016. Jo describes the island as one of the most beautiful places on earth, with a wealth of old vines, indigenous varieties and fantastic soils.
Why?
What’s not to love about an English MW falling in love with the island of Hvar and actually being mad enough to move there to make wine! If you’ve ever had the pleasure of being to the island you’d probably start to appreciate Jo’s decision. There are some wonderful expressions of indigenous varietals to be found in Croatia and their burgeoning wine scene just keeps going from strength to strength especially at the quality end of the spectrum. We think the Wild Skins displays all of the above and it rides the line between old school skin contact methods whilst keeping clean as a whistle.
With?
The Wild Skins is a rather textural, layered wine with serious depth of flavour so game birds such as pheasant or partridge stuffed with plenty of mixed herbs served with roasted veg and finished with a rich jus would be ideal. Lovacki Gulas (Wild Boar and mushroom stew) served with potato dumpling is a delicacy on the island of Hvar
