The wine of the month

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Enjingi, Venje, Bijelo, 2010

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5,0 NJP of 5,0 NJP

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November 2025: Enjingi, Venje, Bijelo, 2010 (approx. 18 EUR/21 USD; selling price on the internet excluding delivery costs) white dry blend wine, Kutjevo, Slavonia, Croatia, 5,0 of 5,0 NJP (100 points of 100 points) (21-11-2025 by Nenad Jelisic)

 

That a white wine can be so complex and concentrated and have such a good tannin structure is absolutely incredible. Unlike the 2006 vintage, this fabulous vintage, and the same applies to the 2008 vintage, is considerably more tannin rich, but still very complex, concentrated and aroma rich and flavour rich. Anyone who knows a little about white wines knows that the vast majority of white wines should be drunk young, i.e. 1 to 3 years old, but this rule does not apply to Enjingis Venje. The wine is already 15 years old, but shows no signs of such age, on the contrary, it has a brilliant tartaric acidity, a brilliant tannin structure, a really good concentration and a really good complexity. In addition, the wine never stops growing/developing in the glass. The aroma is large, complex, concentrated, floral, fruity, creamy, spicy, and feels almost a little perfumed. In the aroma one finds dried figs, dried dates, white flowers, vanilla, cardamom, bay leaves, raisins, honey, yellow apples, yellow pears, apricot and freshly baked brioche. The flavour is big, complex, concentrated, bitter, very dry, fresh and mineral. In the flavour one finds minerals, grapefruit, lime, orange peel, sweet spices, yellow apples, dried fruits, honey, apricot and yellow pears. The wine's bitter, very dry, flavourful and fresh aftertaste stays in the mouth forever. Thanks to the brilliant tartaric acidity and the brilliant tannin structure, Enjingi Venje Bijelo 2010 has a very good aging potential. It can be aged for at least 20 years, i.e. until at least 2045. During these 20 years, the wine will slowly develop into an absolutely fabulous wine. This can be confirmed by Enjingi's first Venje, Venje from the 1998 vintage, which is now 27 years old, but is still alive, fresh and fabulous.

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Thanks to its freshness, dryness, complexity, bitterness and tannins, Enjingi Venje Bijelo 2010 will go really well with almost any food. Here are some suggestions: chicken soup, grilled salmon with white wine sauce and boiled baby potatoes or buttery mashed potatoes, butter-fried cod fillet with hollandaise sauce and boiled baby potatoes or buttery mashed potatoes, grilled corn chicken or grilled pork chops or grilled lamb chops with grilled red peppers, grilled tomatoes, grilled zucchini, potato croquettes and bearnaise sauce, Bouillabaisse, Crawfish Etouffee, cold smoked salmon with crème bonjour horseradish and dill-fried baby potatoes, toast Skagen and oven-roasted turkey with cherry sauce and roasted root vegetables and foie gras with oven-baked baguette filled with butter and pressed garlic. As can be seen from the previously described dishes, food combinations with Enjingi Venje Bijelo 2010 are almost endless. This brilliant wine should be enjoyed at 8 to 10°C, as an aperitif or wine to hang out with friends or as a wine with food, from large Burgundy glasses, if possible, from Orrefors, Spiegelau or Riedel.

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Venje always consists of these five grapes: 20% Gewurztraminer, 20% Pinot Gris, 20% Riesling, 20% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Welschriesling. All these five grapes always come from the best appellation in the Kutjevo wine region, the appellation Venje. The grapes, which are all organically grown, come from vines that are between 30 and 50 years old. The soil on which the grapes grow consists of an approximately 30 cm thick layer, consisting of small stones and clayey soil, which is underlain by weathered magmatic rock. The grapes are picked and sorted by hand. After very careful selections in both the vineyards and the winery, the grapes are fermented individually under a controlled temperature between 15 and 20°C in 2,500 to 5,000 litres stainless steel tanks. Temperature regulation is done with the help of cold water. Only the natural yeast, which comes from the vineyards, is used. After the fermentation, the wines are blended together and aged for at least 18 months in 225 litres new oak barrels (barrique) from Slavonia in Croatia, and then for at least 12 more months in stainless steel tanks. After the aging, the wine is bottled, without filtration, and aged for at least 12 more months before being released on the market. The wine is only produced in exceptional years. This vintage is the latest. Before it, the wine was produced in 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2008. The quantities are very limited. In 2004, Enjingi Venje Bijelo 1998 got both the gold medal as the best white dry blend wine for all Central and Eastern Europe and the International Trophy as the world's best white dry blend wine from the prestigious wine magazine Decanter and its Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). NJ Wines is convinced that if Enjingi would send Enjingi Venje Bijelo 2010 to DWWA, it would be chosen again as one of the world's best white wines.

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​Enjingi's wines can be ordered on the Croatian website Vinoljubac.