Žlahtina Nada 1974 was aged on fine lees, acquiring longevity, fullness, and a hint of sweetness. Today, it offers delicate aromas of pear and citrus, while the palate remains fresh with a soft, almost velvety texture. This summer, it paired even better than expected with shrimps. The Nada winery offers a wine for every day of the week; their range includes five other Žlahtina wines and a red made from indigenous varieties, making a tasting of their full selection a delightful journey from one sparkling wine to the next.
The Valle Jaz 2024 sparkling wine is produced using the Charmat method and takes its name from a section of the Vrbnik Field. It boasts a fine, full, and refreshing taste that lingers longer than one might expect from a that kind of a sparkling wine. The fresh Žlahtina (white label) is notably mineral and retains its freshness remarkably well, while fans of barrel-aged white wines will appreciate the Buzina 2023, which has been aged in small casks. Also made from the Žlahtina grape is Novi Poret, an aromatized wine produced from concentrated must.
Caramel Breakwater
Poret means breakwater, and the wine features a beautiful golden-caramel hue, a highly appealing aroma, and, naturally, a sweet taste. It paired beautifully with povitica, a traditional dessert made of curd cheese and figs. The winery's red wine, Za Berdi, is a blend of indigenous Kvarner grape varieties such as Sansigot, Debejan, Brajdica, and Kamenina. Notes of red fruit, first cherry, then raspberry, are clearly perceptible on both the nose and the palate, and the wine has a light-to-medium body.
The tasting began with a young sparkling wine and concluded with a remarkably mature one. It was Soubze, produced, naturally, from the Žlahtina grape using the traditional method of secondary bottle fermentation, during which it spent a full seven years aging on the lees. It boasts a beautiful golden-yellow hue and moderately pronounced, delicate aromas of lemon and lime, through which notes of apple, butter, bread, and leather emerge, characteristics typical of sparkling wines that have undergone extended bottle aging.
For fish and white meat
The taste is rich yet not overpowering. It retains plenty of freshness, making it an excellent pairing for fish and white meat dishes or a delightful companion for a long, leisurely evening gathering. Throughout the afternoon, glasses of wine in Konoba Nada alternated with lively conversation and fine bites, such as an exquisite seafood soup and fuži pasta with shrimp tails. Indeed, it was precisely for the sake of those shrimp tails that we opened the celebratory Nada 1974 Žlahtina.
