From the atlas
Testament Winery
At A Glance
- Where: Jadrtovac, near Šibenik in Northern Dalmatia, Croatia.
- Vineyard: Planted in 2007 for organic production; Zhoda Investments reports 250,000 vines across 50 hectares.
- Grapes: Pošip for white wine and Babić for red, each shaped through a different cellar route.
- Look for: Stainless-steel Pošip with lees texture, or barrique-aged Babić with dark fruit, acidity and tannin.
The Producer
Testament Winery works from an organic vineyard at Jadrtovac near Šibenik, where the vines were planted in 2007. Juraj Sladić and Igor Radovanović make wines from Croatian grapes that take clearly different forms in the cellar: Pošip remains in stainless steel with lees stirring, while Babić is fermented and matured in barrique. The result is a compact range in which the white leans on citrus-like freshness and texture, and the red carries darker fruit, acidity and grip.
Zhoda Investments acquired Testament in spring 2017 and reports full ownership of Testament Winery and Black Island Winery. Its current scale figure—250,000 vines on 50 hectares—puts the young Jadrtovac planting at the centre of the operation, with Pošip and Babić providing the clearest view of how those vines are turned into bottles.
Place
Testament’s vineyards sit in Northern Dalmatia near Šibenik, with Jadrtovac named as the estate’s vineyard location. That link is most direct in Babić: the grape is associated with the Šibenik area, and Testament treats it as a structured red rather than a light-fruited style. The location on the bottle is therefore not background detail; it connects a regional grape with a wine built around dark fruit, acidity and barrel ageing.
Pošip provides the counterpoint. In the Testament range, this Croatian white grape is not covered by oak: stainless steel and lees contact keep mineral notes, freshness and a fuller texture in view. Together, the two wines locate the estate through grape choice as much as through the map.
Soil And Site
No named soil or slope detail is supplied for Jadrtovac, so the useful site fact is the vineyard’s purpose. It was planted in 2007 specifically for organic production, and the estate’s tasting facilities sit among those vines. The wine consequence is practical rather than decorative: the same vineyard supplies a white shaped by stainless steel and lees, and a red given time in barrique.
The owner’s reported 50 hectares and 250,000 vines also show that Jadrtovac is more than a small tasting-room plot. Its organic planting is the physical base for Testament’s Pošip and Babić, while the cellar choices determine whether the finished wine feels mineral and textural or darker, firmer and more tannic.
Story
Testament begins with a deliberately planted vineyard rather than an inherited old parcel. The 2007 planting established Jadrtovac for organic production, then the estate moved into a new ownership chapter a decade later. That sequence helps explain the range’s directness: Pošip and Babić are presented through the fruit of one named vineyard and through visible choices in tank, lees and barrel, rather than through a long list of labels.
The current operation joins a relatively young vineyard to two established Croatian grapes. Pošip is given stainless-steel freshness and lees weight; Babić is given barrique, acidity and structure. The estate’s story is therefore carried by decisions that can be tasted—how the white holds texture without oak, and how the red brings tannin into its dark-fruit profile.
Vineyards And Cellar
Organic production begins at Jadrtovac, while the cellar separates Testament’s two principal expressions. Pošip is fermented in stainless steel and worked on its lees. Without barrel flavour in the foreground, the wine can carry mineral notes and freshness while lees stirring adds texture through the middle of the palate.
Babić follows a broader-shouldered route. It is fermented and matured in barrique, a choice that supports the grape’s substantial structure rather than replacing it. The supported profile combines dark fruit with lively acidity and tannin, so the barrel-aged red has weight and grip instead of merely sweet oak character.
Wines
The range is easiest to read as a white-and-red contrast. Pošip is Testament’s stainless-steel wine: lees stirring gives body and texture, while mineral freshness keeps the fruit dry and lively. It is the bottle for seeing what the estate does when oak is left out of the equation.
Babić is the red side of the range, made from a grape linked to the Šibenik area and matured in barrique. Its architecture is darker and more structural: fruit is held by acidity, tannin supplies grip, and barrel ageing adds breadth. The 2022 Babić has been assessed with blackberry, cordial, mineral notes, strawberry confit and figs, alongside integrated tannins.
In The Glass
The 2022 Testament Babić opens on blackberry and cordial, with mineral notes running beneath the fruit. On the palate, strawberry confit and fig notes make the fruit feel riper and more savoury than the nose alone suggests. Its barrique maturation supports the wine’s body, but the key structural detail is the acidity: it keeps the dark fruit moving rather than heavy.
The tannins are integrated, so the finish has grip without a hard edge. That combination—juicy fruit, acidity, barrel-grown weight and settled tannin—explains why this Babić can be approached immediately while still tasting like a red built for the table.
A Bottle To Understand It
Choose Testament Babić 2022 first. It brings the estate’s core decisions into one glass: a Babić from the Šibenik area, fermented and matured in barrique, with blackberry, cordial, strawberry confit and fig notes. The palate is juicy but structured, with lively acidity and integrated tannins carrying the fruit through the finish.
It also shows why Testament’s red is more than a dark-fruit bottle. The mineral aspect and tannin give it savoury grip, while the settled structure keeps it accessible now. Pour it with food that can meet its body and acidity, then return to Pošip to see the stainless-steel, lees-led side of the estate.
Anecdote
In spring 2017, Zhoda Investments acquired Testament Winery. The vineyard at Jadrtovac had been planted in 2007, and the new owner moved quickly to invest in tanks and other equipment to expand production. Zhoda later described the estate as 250,000 vines across 50 hectares and listed Testament alongside Black Island Winery within its Croatian wine holdings. At Testament, Juraj Sladić and Igor Radovanović were identified as the winemakers. The investment followed a concrete change of ownership: new tanks and equipment entered an estate whose wines were already rooted in an organic vineyard near Šibenik, with Pošip handled in stainless steel and Babić taken through barrique.
Final Word
Testament offers two useful views of Jadrtovac: Pošip, where lees and stainless steel build dry texture around freshness, and Babić, where barrique, acidity and tannin frame dark fruit. The 2022 Babić is the fuller first encounter; Pošip supplies the brighter contrast.
Sources
- https://www.testament-winery.com/en/
- https://www.thetasteofcroatia.com/en/brands/testament/
- https://www.croatianpremiumwine.com/wine/testament-babic-2020/
- https://zhodainvestments.com/vinverksamheten/
- https://vineroutes.com/croatia-a-new-destination-for-old-world-wine-lovers/
- https://www.falstaff.com/nordics/wines/testament-winery-2022-testament-babic-1
- https://www.croatiaunpacked.com/product-page/testament-babi%C4%87-1