Monastery Tvrdos "Vranac" Dry Red Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018
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Press 4 Mix/Red • Direct Press Selection October/November 2025
Not sure where to start with this wine, so may as well go back to the beginning of the monastery where it is made. It was founded in the 1200s in the southern part of modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a medieval folk poem celebrated "its monastic cellars filled with wine". Today it's still an active Serbian Orthodox monastery complete with a wine cellar dating to the 1500s, and the importers are typically discouraged from taking photos when they visit.
The region, Trebinje, has been making excellent wine for centuries because it's hot in the summer and mild in winter, with vines thriving on the shallow white Herzegovinian karst soil. The monastery mostly works with two native grapes: Žilavka and Vranac. This wine is 100% Vranac, which translates to 'black horse', and the name does echo the dark, animal notes found here. Full bodied, thick, and inky, with black cherry, sage, and spicy pepper notes. What makes it unique is how tangy and energetic it is, with a tension between the richness and the bite that is exciting to drink. It's 15% alcohol but very well integrated, with two years aging in large barrels that are over a 100 years-old. Definitely pair this with some hearty food. Jonathan Kemp
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