One day at the London Wine Fair (LIWSF) is just not enough. A lot of interesting wines, passionate producers, people from the trade, friends and much more. I met briefly Erich Krutzler originally from Austria today in charge with the Marof winery in Slovenia, he was enthusiastic about the changes and developments of his “new” country. On that day I missed out to visit Slovenian producers, wine makers and to taste their wine but was lucky enough to make up for this…

The Slovenia Trade & Press Tasting

It was a really exciting trade tasting, organized by Tina Cody and Jane Hunt MW, the subject: Slovenia. A welcome opportunity to focus on this rather new country to me. Well, when I say new, I remember my first Slovenian bottle of wine which I got as a present from the Polytechnic School of Celje, as a thank you for my work during the Alp-Adria symposium in 1999. I cannot recall what it was other then being a 0,5l bottle, sweet white wine with picture of a holy monk as label and the wine tasted delicious.

The wines and people convinced me on the tasting, that there is a lot of great stuff out there, people with passion and commitment, a driving force combined with joy and from good to some exciting wines, a wide range of diversity.

To understand Slovenian wines a few grape names

Sivi Pinot – Pinot Gris, Sivi meaning grey

Laski Rizling – Welschriesling, Olaszrizling, not related to the Riesling

Renski Rizling – Riesling, Rhein Riesling, the real one

Rumeni Muskat -  a Muscat variety known in Italy as… often sweet wine is made

Sipon – Furmint

Traminec – Traminer but also sometimes meaning Gewürztraminer

Modra Frankinja – Blaufränkisch, Lemberger, Kékfrankos

Rebula – native white variety

Modri Pinot – Pinot Noir

Pikolit –white grape variety, also famous in Friuli, Italy

Ribolla – native white variety

Sauvignonasse – white variety, formaly known as Tocai Friuliano in Italy and Sauvignon vert

Beli Pinot – Pinot Blanc

Zelen – native white variety

Pinela – native white variety

Malvazija – Malvasia

Refosk – native red variety

The three major wine regions are

PODRAVJE (Around Maribor and Celje North East Slovenia, divided by the Drava river)

Sub regions:

Prekmuje (North East tip bordering Hungary)

Stajerska Slovenija (the bigger of the sub regions, south of the mountain range of Steirmark)

POSAVJE (in the immidiate South of the Podravje region at the Sava river)

Sub regions

Bela Krajina

Dolenjska

Bizeljsko Sremic

PRIMOIRSKA (to the West bordering Italy’s Friuli region and South of Triest)

Sub regions

Koper (around the same town South of Triest)

Kras

Vipavska Dolina

Goriska Brda

The above three sub regions are North or Triest and mainly bordering Italy and the coast as well.

Slovenia an exciting wine country with some influence coming from Austria, Hungary and Italy yet very much preserved their own identity and being original through native varieties and their terroir.

Here is a brief introduction to some of the wineries and their wines.

Vina Gjerkes, Rogasovci

Leon Gjerkes the wines maker family business, total production 1500 cases. Leon explained the rather funky looking label of the wine. He also puts Laski Rizling in front of Renski (“real” Riesling) Rizling. Not only is it more expensive (just a little bit), but he also reckons that Laski (Welschriesling) has less green notes and is higher in acidity, also more stable while the harvest takes place around the same time. The average yield is around 2 kg/ vine. His older plantings are trained according the double guyot, the newer ones are done in single guyot style. Space in the vineyard is around 2,5m X 1m.

Sivi Pinot 2009, Prekmurje, Goricko

100% Pinot Gris, matured in big old oak barrel. Pinot Gris with a slightly pink tinge, 12 hours on skin, cold ice used before fermentation and no SO2 added. Slightly strawberry scented nose. Dry, crisp acidity, light citrus fruit, fading strawberry on the palate, medium finish, nice and easy. Drink now

Laski Rizling 2008, Prekmurje, Goricko

100% Welschriesling, matured in big oak barrels. Straw yellow colour with a light touch of lemon but its honey which rules the wine, hint of floralness coming through. Dry, good acidity, lean lemon and citrus finish. Drink now

Dveri Pax Winery, Jarenina

Andreas Jauschneg was telling me the story of Sipon (Furmint) in Slovenia. According to the history Napoleon enjoyed this wine very much and he must said ce bon in French which then got simplified into Sipon by the Slovenian, due to the similar sonority. Mark Savage MW is distributing the wines in the UK. I asked him what his approach is when he is presenting Slovenian wine. As people hardly know anything about it, I mentioned to him the English certainly would even get more notice of Slovenia, if they would have beaten the football team in the last group games during the South African World Cup and would have been knocked out. This happened only a game later, against Germany, the biggest defeat. But back to the issue. What is Mark’s approach? People should look for originality, something unique and new, be open minded and wanting to try something “new”. While the place is important, representing the origin, the grape must be the tool for it. Therefore looking for incomparableness. Furmint is the most planted variety by the way.

Sipon 2009, Stajerska Slovenija

100% Furmint, 13,% ABV, coming from sandy, clay soil fermented in stainless steel tanks 18°C, wild yeast culture. Pale lemon green colour, crisp citrus notes, clean and good, medium intense. Dry, touch of roundness, fresh lemon and citrus fruit. Not too complicated but great to have, very enjoyable. Price ex cellar: 3,50 € Drink now:

Renski Rizling 2008, Stajerska Slovenija

13% ABV, light golden colour, floral, bees wax combo, aromatic and wild flower notes. Dry crisp with a touch of lemon fruit, fairly wild fruit notes shining on the palate too, good finish. Drink now

Sipon Ilovci 2007, Stajerska Slovenija

100% Furmint, lightly oaked, 18 months in 3500 liter oak barrels, 12, 5%. Touch of wood notes, add somehow complexity, bold stone fruit, medium intense. Dry, slightly toasty and almond notes on the palate, rich texture and full bodied. The oak certainly added a lot of positive things to the wine. Fairly full notes, good finish. Drink now – 2013

Sauvignon Vajgen 2007, Stajerska Slovenija

100% Sauvignon Blanc – lightly oaked- 18 months in 3500 litre oak barrels, 13 %ABV. Lemon green colour with a citrus and lemon drive yet there is something more which is present. Nettle and a ripe impact I say. Dry, crisp, nice and round. Good ripeness and a fairly long finish. Drink now-2012

Freser,  Smartno na Pohorju

Matjaz Freser was telling me that they keen on using open canopy for better air circulation. They cultivate the grapes organically, and the total production is roughly 4500 cases. Single guyot training, along wired.

The Rumeni Muskat is a medium sweet (not fortified, as Matjaz was saying this is not allowed in Slovenia) white wine, with 20 g/l residual sugar, the fermentation has been stopped by chilling it down for 20 days (-5°C) and no (or little) SO2 is used and a 100 micron filtration is applied.

Laski Rizling 2009, Stajerska Slovenija – Ritoznoj

Citrus and lemon notes. Dry, crisp fairly round with a fresh citrus and lemon note. Well balanced wine with 2 g/l RS and 5,89 g/l TA. Drink now – 2012

Prudentia 2008, Stajerska Slovenija – Ritoznoj

Basically an ice wine, Prudentia meaning wine of wisdom. Golden colour, plenty of jammy and marmalade note. A rich comfiture action on the nose. Raspberry, mango, pineapple, very rich yet not over powering. Sweet with 200 g/l RS and a total acidity of 8,9 g/l, 11,5% ABV, lively raciness and plenty of notes on the palate, pineapple, mango, sweet jam, marmalade Lovely richness, there is a touch of volatile acidity too, yet a rich finish. 6 € / bottle. Drink now – 2020

Horvat, Maribor

Husband and wife teamed up to make wine. Keen on experimenting. The Traminec is in reality Gewürztraminer elegant wines, the Prime which is a blend of 80 % Traminec (Gewürztraminer in this case) and 20% Chardonnay aged for 4 months in oak. The Traminec was for 2 months on skin contact at lower temperature 15°C it fermented during this time with the skin together. It had a slightly tick of sparkle effect on the palate and a rather unpleasant green apple, under ripe quince I very much suspect “yeast bite” to be happened due to the skin fermentation of the white, the colour had a touch of pinkness too which seemed a bit weird.

Traminec 2008, Stajerska

Floral and notes of lychee spice. Low acidity, dry, slow finish but picks the pace up, some zip of spice and floral on the finish line. Drink now

Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Stajerska

Lemon green colour with a lemon and floral combo. Dry, crisp citrus note, but the leading aroma is gooseberry and nettle, ripe on the mid palate. Good finish and elegant with plenty of weight. Drink now

Krainz, Ljutomer

Herbert Kutschera was representing the wines of the Krainz winery. As you can by the name its an Austrian owner. Herbert a good friend of Mr. Krainz was keen to talk about the wines pushing me to taste all the wines which I very much enjoyed but I shall point out only a couple. The total production is around 60,000 bottles. There is yet no official vineyard classification in Slovenia, but the wine makers do recognize which plots and sites produce better quality.

They make some sparkling wine called Cuvée Bernadette (vintage 2008, produced according tot the traditional method, aged for 12 months on lees). Blend of 50 Pinot Gris and Chardonnay, 30% Furmint and 20% Traminer. Furmint not sure if it gets much attention as a player in this blend, bone dry and with a very aromatic drive. Rosé Jeruzalem is a 100% Pinot Noir, fresh, bone dry with a lovely touch of strawberry. They also produce red wines but the focus on this tasting was more on the whites.

Sipon 2008, Stajerska Slovenija

Lemon green colour with a citrus and fresh note. Hint of pineapple and very refreshing while dry on the palate. Steely on the palate with a good nerve and elegant finish. Drink now

Sauvignon Blanc Ilovci 2004, Stajerska Slovenija

Ilovci is the single vineyard name, medium deep straw yellow colour. Hint of oxidation on the first go, long lees contact and touch of honey and marzipan, certainly signs of age on the nose. Dry, good density, medium weight and body with a fine honey and yet fresh floral note. Hint of minerality on the finish, very nice indeed. The quality selection happens according to the vineyard site, must degree 95 °OE, 2 harvests and a longer hang time guarantees better grapes. Drink now – 2011

Sipon Icewine 2008, Stajerska Slovenija

Furmint eiswein, with 285 g/l RS and 12,6 g/l TA. Usually 1000 bottles of  icewine at the Krainz winery is made on 1 ha, which means roughly 1500 kg of frozen grapes. Golden colour rich and full notes a lot of tropical notes, mango, pineapple and complexity. Great sweetness with a hint of creaminess, touch minerality and full mouth feel of sweetness, great acidity and long finish. Great and rich Eiswein. 25 € / 37,5 cl bottle. Drink now – 2025

Vino Kuster, Kungota

The winery produces only 1000 cases, focusing on aromatic and semi aromatic varieties. The Muskat Ottonel 2008 is a very nice wine. Has all the attributes which you would look for and expect from such a variety. Floral with certain elegance and even a touch of minerality.

Sivi Pinot 2008, Stajerska Slovenija

Pinot gris with a golden colour, aged for 6-8 months on lees. Floral touch and ripe pear and peach on the nose. Dry, with fresh acidity, nice and round. Fermented on 17°C lees steering happened 2x a week in the first few weeks, later once a week. A touch of CO2 lifts the aromatic freshness of the wine. Drink now

Renski Rizling 2007, Stajerska Slovenija

Pale yellow colour with a lemon and honey attack on the nose. Nice mixture of some spices too. Touch of CO2 on the start (?), good backbone, with a fresh drive and lemon citrus fruit. Hint of floralness coming through from the background. Drink now

Puklavec & Friends

Quite a big winery especially when you look at the production. 1,300,000 cases (of 6). The wines are listed in the UK by Harlington Wine Ltd. As Tatjana was explaining to me, the winery does try to look at the single vineyard aspect and recognize better sites. Depending on sun and angle, considering shade and wind protection. They’re one of the wineries who had quite a few of their wines (entry level range) bottled under screw cap. Wines meant to be drunk young and fresh.

Furmint 2009, Podravje

Lemon and citrus notes. Very bright on the palate, great pronunciation of peach and lemon, mango. Dry, fine balance and rich tropical notes. Well made wine with very good balance. Injected yeast culture (it must be!) which unfortunately the wine maker couldn’t share with us, but here are some other information’s: it comes from the towns of Kog, Jeruzalem, Kajzar. The major soil is clay with sand and marl. Vine density is 3000 vine / ha, 50 hl/ ha average yield, picked on the 4^th and 10^th October 2009. Fermented in stainless steel tanks, controlled low temperature. No oak, 13 %ABV, 6,7 g/l TA. Drink now – 2012

Terrace 2009, Podravje

Equal blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Welschriesling and Chardonnay. Plenty of floral notes, with a hint of ripeness and fruitiness, yet dry and crisp acidity. Plenty of floral touch with good all-round notes. Wine coming from slightly higher elevation, 500 m over sea level. Drink now – 2012

Ptujska Klet D.O.O., Ptuj

The winery makes some Sauvingon Blanc which they call Pullus Sauvignon. Beside the mainstream varieties Such as Pinot grigio and the mentioned Sauvingon Blanc, the owners are keen to preserve some of the native grapes too. Such as the Ranfol, which is something like Furmint, big bunches but earlier ripening. I was told this is one of the ancient parents of Chardonnay. The G Slandko is a sweet wine, where the 1/3 of Chardonnay was dried (repaso) and the rest of Riesling and Muscat Lunel vinified normally. The winery produces 100,000 cases.

Renski Rizling 2009, Stajerska Slovenija

10% aged in oak, light floral and citrus note with a fatty mid palate. Dry, medium acidity, touch of floral notes on the finish. Drink now-2012

Ranfol 2009, Stajerska Slovenija

The above mentioned native variety 40 year old vines, notes of wild floral and wild berries. Dry, crisp with a clean and fresh palate, bright concentration of wild floral notes. Very interesting indeed. Drink now-2013

Verus Vinogradi D.O.O, Ormoz

The winery is rather small when it comes to the output, 5000 cases only. The wines are sold through Astrum Wine Cellars in the UK. Rajko the representative of the cellar was talking about climate vs. soil, and he considers climate being more important. Domestic clones are used. The day and night change of the temperature is an important factor, it matters for keeping the acidity right and the fruit. It is a continetal climate with the extreme of 10- 25°C in autumn.

Versus Vineyards Riesling 2009, Stajerska Slovenija

Lemon green colour with bright citrus and grape fruit notes on the nose. Fairly full. Also rich on the palate, similar to the nose with a steely acidity

Versus Vineyards Furmint 2009, Stajerska Slovenija

15% new French oak 225 l, 3-4 months with fermentation and less stirring. Lemon green colour, with good notes on the nose. Pronounced, evidence of lees, hint of minerality and rich texture of bold stone fruit. It also got texture and weight on the body, great balance with crisp acidity. Remarkable battle of weight, texture and acidity, lemon and grapefruit finish. Well made wine. Drink now- 2015

Vino Stajerska D.O.O. Malecnik

There are four different producers (sort of very small co-op), producing a total of 20,000 cases. They produce a wide range of different wines some Riesling (Riesing Joannes as they call it), Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay amongst them. They also do a wine (Steyer) which is made of dried grapes picked in October and then dried for several months.

Riesling Joannes 2008, Stajerska Slovenija

Slightly spicy and petrol notes of evolution evident, honey perhaps some minerality acting in the background too. Good drive on the palate, correct acidity with supple notes of honey and touch of stone fruit. Drink now.

Chardonnay – Gaube 2009, Stajerska Slovenija

Bold and round stone fruit notes medium pronounced. Crisp, dry with soft stone fruit, hint of peach and white melon. Medium finish. Drink now – 2012

Zlati Gric D.O.O. Slov. Konjice

Talking to Saso he considers terroir an important factor when making the wines. Beside the rosé made from Blaufränkisch (Modra Frankinja), they also do a straight red, some Laski Rizling, Riesling and Sivi Pinot (Pinot Grigio). The rosé quite refreshing with a light pink colour and moderate fruit but good balance. Polsuho meaning off dry, as Saso was telling me sort of the Slovenian taste very much appreciates a bit (or more) residual sugar. Suho meaning dry, the Renski Rizling had the roughly the same ABV as the off-dry counterpart, but was clean and crisp with a floral, perfume aroma. The highlight was the pozna trgatev, late harvest Riesling.

Renski Rizling Polsuho 2009, Stajerska Slovenija (off-dry)

Roughly 12 g/ l residual sugar, fermentation arrested by temperature: Floral fresh nose, the off-dry character comes out, hint of sweetness, perfume is leading. Drink now

Renski Rizling, Pozna Trgatev 2009, Stajerska Slovenija

Late harvest, picked in November. Light golden colour with pronounced nose of stone fruit. Sweet, 67 g/l medium acidity yet good skills, as I understood it temperature got cooled down for 16 days on to 6-7°C at the end. Bright wine with fair complexity. Drink now-2015

Kristancic Dusan, Dobrovo v Brdih

Moving to a different wine region, clearly a red wine area, the Goriska Brda yet you find plenty of white wines still, like the Chardonnay Pavo aged for 18 months in oak barrels or the indigenous white Rebula. The Pavo Rdece is a Bordeaux blend aged for 30 months in oak barrels. Typical notes of cassis, mint, damson fruit and finishing with herbal, pencil shaving, call it complex if you want.

Modri Pinot Pavo 2006, Goriska Brda

Aged for 36 months in oak, 14,5% ABV, ruby colour with some red fruit cherry touch on the nose. Some herbal mint on the palate, high in alcohol this Pinot Noir, but firm finish. Drink now – 2012

Pikolit 2008, Goriska Brda

Made from the native Pikolit grapes, dried grapes to be precise. Ages for 18 months in oak barrels, almost 15% ABV, fiery, punching sweet fruit with a hint of nutty finish. Very interesting combination of sweetness, berry fruit and a nutty kick. Drink now-2018

Family Winery Jakoncic, Dobrovo v Bridih

The total production is around 80,000 bottles, based in the Goriska Brda region. Focusing on white native varieties such Rebula yet close to the Italian regions of Friuli varieties such as Sauvignon Vert and Piculit are also important for them. The Rdeca Carolnia Select 1999 a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc released in a magnum bottle is not necessarily cheap with 70€ / magnum (FOB price). I was wondering what the major differences were between Slovenian oak and French oak. Some variance in price, Slovenian tends to be 20% cheaper then its French counterpart. The oak tree tends to grow higher, the pores are slightly bigger and I was also told it drives towards more sweet spice notes.

Rdeca Carolnia 2006, Goriska Brda

Classic Bordeaux blend aged for 24 months in a French & Slavonia oak. Ruby colour with a bright cassis, mint nose. Good acidity, soft tannins, firm but medium. Classic notes of blackcurrant and eucalyptus. Good strength with a medium finish. Drink now – 2012

Movia, Dobrovo

Medium sized family estate producing just fewer than 14,000 cases focusing on organic wines. Beside the well known varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot they also emphasize on Pinot Noir (also in blends) and native varieties such as Rebula. Many of their wines are fermented in barrel.

Moviai Modri Pinot 2004, Goriska Brda

Fresh fruit driven red with a medium ruby colour and light notes of strawberry notes. Soft all-round wine with good acidity light tannins. Moderate concentration on the palate but great balance. Drink now

Simcic – Marjan Simcic, Dobrovo

The wines are sold in the UK through Bancroft Wines. Small family estate producing under 10000 cases of wines, emphasizing organic production as well as barrel fermentation and aging in barrels. The Teodor white is a blend of Ribolla, Sauvignonasse (same as Friulano or used to be called Tocai) and Pinot Grigio. It spent 22 months in different sized oak barrels and then assembled before bottling. Most of the wines were fairly high in alcohol 13,5% and 14% ABV was not uncommon.

Pinot Noir Selekcija 2007, Brda

Aged for 28 months in French oak barrels (225l ). Bright ruby colour with a pronounced nose of strawberry, mulberry and some sweet spice. Good acidity, soft tannins, quite a ripe attack on the palate. Sweet red fruit touch of smoke and round finish. Drink now – 2012

Vinska Klet Goriska Brda, Dobrovo

Rather bigger winery with 900,000 cases of production. Their UK agent is Berkmann Cellars. A very good and wide selection of whites and reds. I found the Sauvignonasse Quercus 2009 a really exciting wine. It’s a quality grape and I see no problem why it can not be pushed as Friulano in Italy or even under the original and international grape name (as used in Argentina as well) Sauvignonasse. Ripe, full and bold fruit notes, mango, stone fruit, lovely silkiness but juicy at the same time. Classic wine/grape with a lot to offer.

Cuvée Rdeci Quercus 2007, Primorska

Blend of Cabernet Franc (40%), Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (30%), 40% of the wine aged in big oak barrels. Spicy red fruit with a touch of mint and eucalyptus. Medium body, good everyday drinking wine, with medium concentration and finish. Yet good balance and correct intensity. As said, a very good drinking wine. Drink  now

A+ Rdece 2006, Primorska

Again a classic Bordeaux blend, selected and aged for 18 months in barrels. Low yields 40 hl/ ha. Rich spice and full on fruit notes on the nose, fairly intense. The oak quite (new) present but also a young wine. High notes on the palate with concentration and full fruit flavours, mainly black currant, mulberry. Soft tannins yet long finish and rich indeed. Drink now – 2014

Guerila – Zmagoslav Petric, Ajdovscina

Winery with focus on organic production and native varieties. Such as the Zelen and Pinela. The Zelen is a white variety which tends to show more floral and blossom characters with a medium acidity and perfume character on the palate too. Their 2009 Helen (just 50 ha existing) had a bright peachy tone as well. Some of the blends have funky names such as the Cuba (2008) blend of Merlot and Barbera aged in American and French oak.

Pinela 2009, Vipavska Dolina

Pale colour with a rather neutral nose. Hint of white flower and blossom character. Dry on the palate with crisp acidity and a very clean structure and profile. Again a great everyday drinking wine. Drink now

Nika 2008, Vipavska Dolina (sweet)

Blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, made out of dried grapes. Just one layer is placed in boxes and then dried to let the berries shrivel. On the nose plenty of comfiture and marmalade. Rich black fruit and sweetness on the palate. Bit heavy and sticky on the finish line, yet its not cloying, fresh on the mid palate. Good sensation. Drink now – 2012

Kmetija Slavcek, Dornberk

Family business where everyone is involved in the wine making procedure. Focusing on organic production while some wines can even claim to be biodynamic. Such as the Sivi Pinot 2007 fermented in old barrels of 225l or the Rebula.

Rebula 2006, Vipavska Dolina

Short fermentation, hint of floral and peach on the nose. Dry with a soft and smooth structure. Yet a rich texture some notes of old school wine making or hands on, different, very interesting character. Hint of dusty finish, yet a wine for the curious one. Drink now

Merlot 2005, Vipasvska Dolina

Fermented in old barrels (10% new) for 12 months, another wine which was made according to the biodynamic philosophy. Good colour, red fruit in the nose with good depth, strawberry and bramble fruit. Good acidity on the start, with soft and round notes, well balanced wine touch of pencil shaving on the finish. Good length, very pleasant wine.Drink now

Vipava 1894 D.D., Vipava

Winery focusing on a wide range of different wines. From the Malvazija (Malvasia) variety to the Pinot Blanc. In regards of the reds there is some emphasizing visible on international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Malaria Lathieri 2009, Vipavska Dolina

Pale straw yellow colour with a distinct green apple and blossom note on the nose. Dry, some white floral touch on the palate. Soft yet low in acidity, certainly a semi-aromatic character with some stone fruit and green apple on the finishing line. Drink now – 2011

Selected Wines Bordon, Dekani

The winery showed some sweet wines next to the Refosk local variety and some classic Bordeaux blends such as the Bon d’Or. The slamno Vino e. Vin Rosé 2005 is a Cabernet Sauvignon dessert wine. Mixture of dried and botrytis grapes as I was told, dried in open air reaching after fermentation was stopped 14 % ABV.

Refosk 2008, Slovenska Istra

Deep colour with a light spice and herbal note on the nose. Quite an attack. Medium acidity and medium tannin base yet some good weight on the palate. It drives with a herbal spicy character on the palate, yet fairly ripe on the finish. Drink now

The Slamno Vino Merlot 1999

Is a sweet Merlot aged for a long period in oak (48 months)? Deep colour, lot of bramble fruit with cranberry note. Very much like a cordial or splash of red fruit and herbal mint mixture. Sweet, with a soft to medium acidity touch of wood and drying sensation yet the sweetness is more powerful, throws a lot of deposit. Full bodied and high in alcohol (14% ABV). Drink now – 2018

Korenika & Moskon, Izola

The winery produces 180,000 bottles of wine and beside the crisp and fresh Malvazija there is also some Refosk matured in French oak for 24 months. The wines tend to be full bodied and never low in alcohol (apart from the sweet wines).

Extrakt 2004, Slovenska Istra (sweet)

The wine matured 36 months in French oak, made of the Rumeni Muskat variety. As I was told it’s the same as Muscato Gallo. The grapes were dried on straw mats and the wine reached a finishing alcohol of 11% ABV. Golden colour with a ripe nose of dried fruit yet a touch of floralness kicks in too. The wine maker was saying that they use ascorbic acid prior to bottling. This mainly helps to preserve oxidation. The residual sugar content was 198 g/l. Drink now- 2017

Ecological Winery Rodica Truske, Marezige

Small family producer, making less then 6,000 litres a year and emphasizing on organic grape growing and wine production. Beside the Malvazija and some Bordeaux varieties they also do several different Refosks (different oak aging).

Refosk 2006, Slovenska Istria

Used barriques for 30 months, and organic grapes only. Good deep colour with a bright cherry some dusty spice on the nose, pencil shaving too. Good acidity, soft tannins and round notes. Drinks well, hint of herbal finish. Drink now – 2015

Santomas, Smarje

Fairly big winery present in the UK through Waterloo Wine Company. It seems they work with and around the local red variety, Refosk. Using it as a varietal and also as a blend, mainly in Bordeaux blends season with different oak aging.

Grand Cuvée 2005, Slovenska Istria

Blend of Refosk (95%), Cabernet Sauvignon (5%), aged for 24 months in new French oak. Deep ruby colour throwing some sediment, bell pepper, and bramble fruit on the nose. Fairly ripe, it seems Cabernet still powerful, despite being only 5%. Full bodied, high tannins and vibrant acidity. Led by black fruit yet some herbaceous character undeniable. Drink now – 2011

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