In 2019, Tonči Marijan was awarded the prestigious gold medal in Decanter magazine for his Plavac Mali Vron Bod 2012. 

Tonči is a boutique winemaker from the village of Pitve where his winery is beautifully located at the top of a hill overlooking the Adriatic sea. In 2008, he decided to start as an independent winemaker on the island of Hvar. Ever since, he has dedicated his production to extreme variations of the Plavac Mali grape that leaves nobody indifferent. Tonči will even refuse to sell wine to anybody that doesn’t understand or appreciate the expression of the wine. This has left him with a large number of dedicated followers that truly appreciate the genuine character of his wines. With its 15.4% alcohol content, the Vron Bod showcases Tonči’s philosophy of leaving the Plavac Mali grape untamed and full of character.

What does Hvar mean to you?

Hvar is my home island and the most beautiful place to live and work in the world. It has a huge potential for the production of excellent wines and I’m proud to be a part of that ingenious story.

Do you host wine tastings at your winery? 

Yes, in the winery there is a tasting room that can accommodate up to 15 people. As a rule, home made food, cooked by myself, is served with the tasting in several sequences depending on the number of different wines that are being tasted.

What is the grape variety that you most associate yourself with?

Bogdanuša, it has been unfairly neglected for so long but I believe that it can give a real refreshing summer wine through its finesse and elegance.

If you could only sell one of your wines, which one would it be and why?  

Definitely the Plavac Vron Bod. With its fullness and richness of taste, it best describes the climate in which the grapes are produced, the island it comes from and ultimately me as a winemaker and man.

Please tell us the story about the Vron bod vineyard

Vron Bod is located on the southern slopes of the island of Hvar in the best zone for grape production. The slope towards the sea provides additional insulation which results in an increased amount of sunshine hours necessary to produce the best grapes. The vineyard is planted with 2500 Plavac Mali vines from which, with a strict selection of grapes, about 1200 bottles of premium wine are produced annually. 

The wine from the 2012 vintage won the Gold Medal in Decanter magazine with 95/100 points at the largest and most prestigious wine competition in the world. Vron Bod is the first wine from the Plavac mali grape variety to be awarded with such a price, which shows the exceptional potential of micro-location, terroir and grape variety.

Tonči runs a production with a large share of manual labor, starting from the vineyard through the cellar and winery to the filling and packaging of the wine. His motto in wine production is to faithfully convey the taste he finds in the grapes without interfering too much. Luckily, he holds some of the best vineyard locations on the island of Hvar which leaves him with grapes of perfect quality. Vron Bod is a micro-location in the Ivan Dolać vineyard position. Depending on the vintage, wines from this micro-location range from 14,5 – 16,7 % of alcohol and up to 20-30 grams of residual sugar. 

When it comes to winemaking, Tonči has developed his own processes ranging from fermentation temperature, length of cold maceration, fermentation duration, use of sulfur and yeast, first flows and clarification to careful selection of new barrique barrels. Everything is based on ýears of experience and continuous experimentation. His philosophy is to use as little as possible of various types of pumps, filters, heat exchangers, clarifiers and softeners for tannins. That is, not to deviate from the tradition of learning how to produce harmonious, complex and balanced wine at the same time.