Kosovec is located in the small rural town of Popovača in one of the smallest Croatian wine regions called Moslavina, in central continental Croatia, about 50 kilometers southeast from the capital, Zagreb.

Ivan started in the winemaking business when he was just 18 years old, in 2003. He went into oenology school in Istria and that same year, with the support of his family, he bought 4 hectares of pristine land. After some clearing and deforesting in 2005, he planted 3 hectares of vineyards with a total of 18,000 vines in one of the finest sites in the Moslavina region.

Grape varieties include Škrlet, an autochthon white variety only grown in Moslavina. There is less than 100 hectares planted in the entire world. Other varieties are Chardonnay, Zweigelt, Frankovka and Pinot noir.

Their philosophy of viticulture is based on a maximum natural approach – so they farm their vineyards organically, encourage small yields with the use of only minimum quantities of copper and sulfur for fungus protection, without the use of any synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or insecticides and a lot of manual work. They do not use any kind of mineral or foliar fertilizers – only organic fertilizers, humus, and green manuring when possible.

The winemaking is based exclusively on the natural quality of the grapes with respect to the terroir and vintage. There is little to no intervention with the grapes, must, or wine – no added yeasts, enzymes or any other enological additives or preparations. No fining, filtering, and the use of sulfur is down to a minimum.

With this kind of philosophy and approach, they want to make true, live, and terroir-driven wines which showcase the specific and unique characteristics of Moslavina’s geography, variety, and climate.

Vinification: Picked by hand at full ripeness, lightly crushed and 100% destemmed, 40% of the wine is macerated and fermented for 2 weeks without temperature control in open vats and the other 60% is immediately pressed, spontaneous fermentation with natural yeasts with temperature control (max up to 20°C) in inox tank, after fermentation both wines were mixed together, aged in inox tank, no fining, no filtering and with use of minimum SO2.

Notes: Škrlet ‘Ovnek’ is a new cuvee for Ivan, where he has found a brilliant intersection of the bright and lively expression of Škrlet, along with some beautifully textured flavors through a portion of the blend fermented on the skins for a period of time.

The color immediately lets you know you are in for a treat, shining golden bronze in the glass and popping with rich notes on the nose of baked apple, honey blossom and touches of clove. The palate is broad and rich, while framed within wonderfully balanced acidity – notes of softened peaches, orange marmalade and crystallized ginger are well integrated with structure and a fantastically long finish.

‘Ovnek’ literally translates to ‘ram” was the historic symbol of the Škrlet grape, as the clusters can resemble a rams head. It is also the official symbol of the Škrlet producers association. – Vinum