Vinarjia Čobanković Winery & Ivan Buhac Winery: Sylvaner to Merlot

On one of our days exploring Slavonia, during our tour of Croatia, we visited six wineries, although the last two visits were relatively brief.  Both the Vinarija Čobanković Winery and Ivan Buhac Winery produce a significant amount of value or bulk wines, including box wines, primarily for the local market. However, both also produce some excellent, premium wines, 

Pictured above is Ivan Čobanković, the oldest son of Petar Čobanković, a former Croatian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water who also worked at Iločki Podrum for a time. Although their family has made wine for many years, mainly for home consumption, the commercial winery wasn't established until 2003. Back then, the family only owned about 4 hecatres of vineyards, as well as 2 hectares of peaches. Now, they own about 100 hectares of vineyards, producing about 300K liters of wine annually. 

Most of their production is bulk wines, inexpensive wine that is meant to compete with cheap imported wines, often packaged in boxes or plastic. They also produce about 70,000 bottles of premium wine, although nearly all are sold within Croatia. The winery has about 10-11 labels, and their most popular wine is Graševina, although their Pinot Sivi does very well too. In addition, they produce a Sylvaner wine, which helps make them standout in the region. They also make some red wine, although Ivan stated he would like to age their red wines longer.  

The 2020 Vinarjia Čobanković Graševina, with a 12.5% ABV, was fermented in stainless steel and then aged for about 6 months in 1100 liter Slavonian oak barrels. It was an easy-drinking wine, pleasant and crisp, with tasty apple notes. 

The 2020 Vinarjia Čobanković Pinot Sivi (Pinot Gris), with a 13% ABV, was aged in barrique. It possessed an interesting taste, with a blend of citrus, spice, toast and savory notes.   

My favorite wine of the three we tasted was the 2021 Vinarjia Čobanković Silvanac Zeleni (Sylvaner), with a 12% ABV.  On the palate, it presented a complex and delicious melange of flavors, including melon, pear, and herbal notes. It was crisp and dry, refreshing and savory, light bodied and with a satisfying finish. Highly recommended.

Back in 1998, the Ivan Buhac Winery was founded by Ivan and his son, Domagoj. Its interesting to note that "Buhac," in Russian roughly translates as a "heavy drinker" or even "alcoholic." They currently have about 27 hectares of vineyards, 20 they own and 7 they lease, and have a capacity of 300K liters, although they only produce about 200K liters. In 2006, they started making red wines, and were also the first to produce a Merlot wine in their region. 60% of their current production is Graševina, while 20% is Merlot. 

Domagoj Buhac, pictured above, took over the reins of the winery in 2007, and acts as winemaker, although his father still works in the vineyard. After visiting his cellar room, we sat in his kitchen to taste some of this premium wines.

The 2021 Ivan Buhac Graševina. with a 12% ABV, is an easy drinking, light bodied, fruity and refreshing wine. A fun summer wine, enjoyable on its own. About 70% of the Buhac production is Graševina, and 80% of that production is sold to Zagreb. 

The 2021 Ivan Buhac Sauvignon Blanc, with a 11.5% ABV,  was light and aromatic, with flavors of lemon, grapefruit and with some mineral notes.  Domagoj noted that this grape is difficult to grow, and hard to preserve its aromas, because of the heat of the region. 

The 2021 Ivan Buhac Chardonnay, with a 13.% ABV, sees only stainless steel, although Domagoj believes it needs some oak aging. I found the wine to be fresh and bright, crisp and dry, with pleasing apple and mild tropical notes. I think it was very nice without the oak, although it would be interesting to see what a bit of oak might bring to the wine.

The 2019 Ivan Buhac Merlot, with a 14% ABV, is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. The bottle is twice as heavy as a normal bottle, and that may reflect that this is a big wine, with a dark red color, rich black fruit flavors, dark spice notes, bold tannins, and a lengthy finish. It is a wine for hearty foods, like a juicy steak.