Belgrade like any other metropolis has its own rhythm of life and its unwritten rules and customs which one must obey if he/she wants to survive in that universe of 2 million individuals. One of these customs is the phenomenon of empty city during the months of July and August. Namely, the streets during these two summer months seem abandoned... no traffic jams, anxiety, violent driving in order to get as quickly as possible from one part of the city to another. The city folks (i.e. the remaining few who haven't already gone to Greece or to some other seaside) flock to the Danube and the Sava rivers, the lake of Ada Ciganlija or nearby picnic areas...  When the temperature reaches 40 degrees Celsius, it isn't difficult to make the right choice between a glass of wine in a wine bar and a glass of wine on the river boat. For that reason, numerous wine bars and wine shops in the city stay calm and alert during those two months, whilst awaiting the right moment in September to start again with organization of wine events, tastings, promotions, gatherings of wine lovers and wine admirers ... This year, the wine shop Vino i vinogradarstvo (the name of the shop brings to memory the eponymous tv programme about wines) has already started their wine promotion program. Already on Friday, 21st August 2015, in Zmaj od Noćaja Street, near the Students' Square, winelovers flocked to taste again wines labelled Domaine Lepovo, belonging to Tikveš wines' family. You are already aware that Domaine Lepovo appeared as an attempt to differentiate premium wines made by Tikveš from the reputation that Tikveš holds among consumers in Serbia or other countries of the region and the image of cheap wines from the shelves of supermarkets.

 The grapes for this wine originate from the site called Lepovo, at an altitude of 250 meters, near Negotino (Macedonia). 15-year-old vineyards cover an area of 5 hectares. The focus of the promotion at Vino i Vinogradarstvo wine shop was on labels Lepovo Chardonnay 2013 and Lepovo Pinot Noir 2013. The dominant trait that impresses me most about both of these wines is truly masterful blending of oak and wine, which creates an elegant, discreet impression and gives these wines identity. This is particularly true for Chardonnay, because it gives plenty of opportunity to fall into the trap of using too much oak. No doubt that a high-quality Chardonnay blended with oak demonstrates to a greater extent skills of the oenologist rather than the skills of vinegrower. That's why it often happens that barrique Chardonnay looks the same no matter from which wine region it comes from. This trap is avoided when it comes to Chardonnay from Domaine Lepovo. However, there is something missing in the overall experience of this wine which prevents me from ranking it in the list of top Chardonnays available on the Serbian market. The first impression in the mouth is rich, powerful, opulent, multilayered flavors spread vivaciously in the mouth but quickly fade in intensity and last shorter than I would expect from such a wine. And we should not forget that the competition on the Serbian market is extremely strong when it comes to Chardonnay, and therefore the expectations are much higher.

 For that reason, I gave my preference for Lepovo Pinot Noir 2013 on that rainy evening in Belgrade. Raindrops have brought refreshment, so the summer shower didn't disturb the atmosphere among present winelovers. Still young (it will be exciting to taste it in the coming years to see how it evolves, provided that some bottles remain since the wine is produced in a limited edition of 6,000 bottles), full-bodied, perfectly balanced wine ... High alcohol doesn't disturb, but  rather emphasizes wine's extract and masculine power of Pinot. A long trail of raspberry, red forest fruits and sweet spices lingers in the finish. And together with this wine, we had an opportunity to see many familiar faces (still tanned after the holidays), hear stories about summer holidays and impressions of the wines that were tasted during the summer... Zmaj od Noćaja Street, the place where miracles can happen, Zmaj od Noćaja... These lyrics of Bajaga's song  still race through my head.

 

 

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