Cultus – Zelen, 2019

Let’s head to Vipava valley tonight, to Matej and Carolin, who are producing wines and releasing them under the Cultus label. We’ll have a look at the autochthonous variety Zelen and taste how their combination of oak fermentation and stainless vats maturation results in the final wine.

All wines at Cultus are organically cultivated, and this is where Matej decided to replant the plot only with this grape. A total of 1.750 vines are spanned over a little less than half a Hectare and are planted at an altitude of 205 meters above sea level in Flysch.

Grapes are hand-harvested, destemmed and crushed. The mash then macerates with spontaneous fermentation for three days. Following gentle pressing, the juice is racked in a combination of oak barrels and stainless vats, where it matures for the next twelve months, also undergoing malic conversion.

Cultus Zelen is a wine with golden yellow colour, crystal clear and dense.

Its aromas are intense, refined and remind us of yellow apple, honey pear, yellow plum, lemon zest, pomelo, with scents of yellow roses, almonds, and a slightly buttery note that is intertwined with thyme.

A soft wine of good warmth. Refreshing and mineral. Thanks to the oily texture, it acts balanced. An intense, elegant wine with a rather persistent aftertaste and delicate structure in which aromas of apple, yellow plum and Mediterranean herbs are expressed.

A wine that should be drunk in the next two to three years but expresses this delicate variety harmoniously. A bottle will cost you approximately 13 Eur, and you can order it at Be wines, Green papa, Wein Natur and Deli Croatia.