March 17, 2023 - Last year, one of the most influential wine magazines in the USA, Wine Enthusiast, rated the Croatian wine Ernest Tolj Dingač of the Saints Hills winery with a high 97 points, but this year's 99 out of 100 points put it at the very top of the world, joining the elite club.
As Punkufer writes, this recognition for this Croatian wine is all the greater because it is a local variety, Plavac Mali, which is increasingly recognized and appreciated globally. Small yields, great steepness, triple insolation (from the sun, sea, and stone), pure manual processing, and, along with limestone and red earth, an abundance of quartz are just some of the specifics of the unique terroir to which this wine owes its qualities. Special efforts are invested in the production as well. After the manual selection of the grapes, fermentation in barrique is followed by two years in oak barrels so that the tannins would further round out and soften. Then comes aging in special dark glass bottles decorated with the winery's motifs.
Ernest Tolj Dingač 2019 is a limited series of humanitarian wines, and the Saints Hills winery donates all the money from the sales to children in need. It was founded in 2006, and the vineyards in Dalmatia and Istria are named after the children of the owners Ivana and Ernest Tolj.
Adding to them the prefix of saints, the vineyard of St. Lucia in the Dingač region, the vineyard of St. Ante in western Istria, and St. Roko in Komarna are actual proof that this family shapes the gifts of the land in the best possible way - providing true wine lovers with unique tastes.
"Our hearts are full that every year, through our Saints Hills for Kids foundation, we can help those who need help the most. With great enthusiasm, we pick every grape of Plavac Mali to become humanitarian wine ET Dingač. A limited series of only a few hundred bottles are available to wine lovers every year with the same noble mission: to make the world a better place," said Ivana and Ernest Tolj, owners of the Saints Hills winery, and add:
"Just as we try to be an example to our children and help them on their life paths, we want to do the same for those children who do not have adequate care, protection, and love. That is why every drop of Ernest Tolj Dingač is woven with the greatest emotion every human needs - from the youngest to the oldest."
On the Saints Hills winery website, 99 of the total 800 bottles of Ernest Tolj Dingač 2019 are available for sale, and delivery is expected in June. All proceeds from this top Croatian wine are intended for the most vulnerable groups through the Saints Hills for Kids Foundation, just as in previous years.
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