Zenta Vranac 2020: A Taste of Montenegro
Meet Vranac: the Montenegrin red grape you’ve probably never heard of.
When you earn the title of ‘wine expert’ (expert used extremely loosely here) among your friends and family, they quickly learn that the best holiday souvenir they can bring back is a bottle of something local.
So, when my brother returned from Montenegro with a bottle of local red wine called Vranac, my interest was more than piqued.
Montenegro hadn’t exactly been on my wine radar. I’d never visited and, in fact, no one I knew had been there either, up until now. Plus, the wine aisle at my local Tesco wasn’t exactly filled to the brim with wine from Montenegro, so it wasn’t especially easy to get my hands on a bottle of Montenegrin wine — unless I really sought it out.
So when a bottle of Montenegrin red wine called ‘Vranac’ is placed in front of you, with the accompanying line of “I’ve brought you a bottle of local red wine – hopefully it’s nice,” you bet I was excited to crack it open.
I had no idea what Vranac was, so naturally I did a little digging. It turns out it’s a red grape native to the Balkans and particularly associated with Montenegro, where it’s one of the country’s best-known varieties.
Thankfully, Zenta Vinarija Vučinič Vranac turned out to be a pretty good introduction.
From the off, it had such a deep red colour, paling slightly towards the edges of the glass. On the nose, there was dark and red fruit with a slightly tart, almost sour-fruit character, alongside pepper, vanilla and spice. There was also a subtle herbal note, with oak sitting underneath it all.
As for the palate, Vinarija Vučinič Vranac is medium-bodied, with the tart fruit coming through again alongside black fruit, vanilla and spice. The oak is noticeable but doesn’t completely dominate, and there’s a peppery edge that keeps the wine interesting.
There’s a great balance between intense dark fruit and more savoury, herbal notes, making it feel less fruit-forward than some of the reds I’d typically reach for. But even amongst those more peppery notes, the fruit holds up nicely.
Noticeably for me, this Vranac wasn’t as full-bodied as I’d expected. But after a little post-wine-drinking research, I discovered there’s actually quite a bit of variety in Vranac, with some wines sitting much fuller-bodied than others.
As someone who was brought up on big, bold Spanish reds, I’d be particularly interested to try some of those heavier Vranacs in the future. I just need to work out where to find them in the UK.
If you’re visiting Montenegro and come across a bottle of Zenta Vranac, it’s one I’d be tempted to pick up — particularly if you’re interested in trying local grapes rather than sticking to the international varieties you already know.
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