Mind-blowing: This Croatian Wine Just Scored 99 Out of 100 Points!

Ernest Tolj Dingač 2019, a limited edition wine produced by the Saints Hills winery and whose proceeds go to support needy and underprivileged children, has received the highest recognition to date. Wine Enthusiast, one of the most prominent global magazines, has awarded the wine with 99 out of a possible 100 points, making it the best-rated Croatian wine in history.

“Our hearts are full that every year through our ‘Saints Hills for Kids’ foundation, we can help those who need it most. With great enthusiasm, we carefully select each Plavac Mali grape so that it can ultimately become the humanitarian ET Dingač wine. The limited edition of only a few hundred bottles is presented to wine lovers each year with the same noble mission: to make the world a better place,” said Ivana and Ernest Tolj, emotional spouses and owners of the Saints Hills winery.

Are Saints Hills the best wines in Croatian history so far?

Last year, Wine Enthusiast rated Ernest Tolj Dingač with a high score of 97 points. However, this year’s rating of 99 out of a possible 100 points puts it at the top of the world’s best wines. The recognition is even greater because it is an autochthonous wine variety Plavac Mali, whose quality has only recently begun to be recognised globally.

In the glass, this wine appears as a deep garnet hue with a hint of darkness. Its aromas are reminiscent of the forest floor, with notes of bramble and black plum. Upon tasting, the wine initially feels soft and gentle in the mouth but soon bursts with ripe and rich flavours of cassis, black plum, and black raspberry, enveloping your palate. A bright and peppery finish awaits you at the back of your mouth, balanced by soft and silky tannins that leave a pleasant and long-lasting finish.

According to the winery, special effort was put into the production of this wine. After the manual selection of Plavac Mali grapes, the wine is fermented in special barrique barrels. The wine then ages for two years in large oak barrels to further round and soften the tannins. It is then aged in special bottles made of dark glass adorned with motifs of the winery made of pure platinum.

It is worth noting that the Tolj couple founded the Saints Hills winery in 2006, and named their vineyards in Dalmatia and Istria after their children. Adding the prefix of saints, the vineyards of St. Lucia in the Dingač region, St. Ante in western Istria, and St. Roko in Komarna are a true testament to how this family shapes the gifts of the land in the best possible way, providing true wine lovers with unique tastes.

So far, many Saints Hills wines have achieved extremely high recognition from the Wine Enthusisast alone:

• Dingač, 95 points
• Le Chiffre, 94 points
• Black, 93 points
• Mala Nevina, 93 points

It’s only a very small list of the most recent scores in the award-winning history of Saints Hills, but impressive nonetheless. However, 99 pts were unimaginable. We can only ask ourselves, will Saints Hills stop at 100?

Where to buy Saints Hills wines?

Wine&more has been proudly offering ET Dingač (along with other awarded Saints Hills wines) on the European and world market for years. All proceeds are intended for the most vulnerable groups through the “Saints Hills for Kids” foundation, just as in previous years. Like most true charity, it’s not being done for public relations purposes but out of an honest desire to make a change and contribute. Find out more here.

“Just as we strive to be an example to our children and help them on their life paths, we want to do the same for children who do not have adequate care, protection, and love. That is why every drop of Ernest Tolj Dingač contains the greatest emotion necessary for every human being – from the smallest to the oldest,” said Ivana and Ernest Tolj.