Vinas Mora Barbba 2022

Vinas Mora, whose name means wine of the sea, works the rocky coast around Primosten in Dalmatia, Croatia, where centuries of growers have coaxed vines from a harsh landscape. The vineyards are split into small plots walled off with dry stone to break the constant wind, and the vines cling to limestone and dolomite, sending their roots deep through the rock in search of water. Barbba is made naturally and organically, with minimal intervention in the cellar. The poor, free draining soils and sea breezes keep yields low and acidity high, which is why this is such a pale, fresh, light bodied red, so deeply coloured strawberry that it could almost be mistaken for a rose in the glass. With no heavy oak or extraction to mask it, the wine leads with bright strawberry and red cherry fruit, a wild herbal note and a clear saline, briny lift drawn from the maritime site, finishing crisp and dry. Serve lightly chilled at 13 to 14 degrees. It is an easy, food friendly red that suits lighter dishes and the table.