What happens when Simon J. Woolf – author of the book “Amber wine revolution”, regular contributor for Decanter and the editor of “The morning claret” – invites Simona Česen – head sommelier of Šuklje wine bar, and one of the most prominent sommeliers of Slovenia; David Lipovšek – owner of Oenotheque Brda; and yours truly to a tasting of 52 carefully selected wines of skin-contact? A unique deep dive into some of the most prominent macerated wines, and a manifestation of wet dreams for the lovers of natural wines!
And what a ride this was! A unique journey combining some of the most exclusive amber wines from one of the most prominent districts of Slovenia – Brda! Surely the first of its kind, uniting all winemakers, following two simple criteria: the producer must follow organic farming practices, and wines need to have at least some skin contact.
The tasting featured eight flights of wines arranged by grape variety, different ageing times, and skin contact times. The starter was led by a flight combining four wines of Malvasia Istriana and one Sauvignon Blanc – an outsider, one would say. Still, it fitted the orchestra perfectly, aligning its aromas of dried fruit and Mediterranean herbs with hints of dried apricot and sage of Malvasia. One could genuinely confuse the two varieties!
The star of the second course was Sauvignon Vert. This fantastic grape variety deserves attention, but in recent years has struggled due to its unfortunate name, which has evolved from Furlanski Tokaj to Sauvignonasse, Jakot, and now Sauvignon Vert. Eight wines showcased aromas of ripe mango, persimmon, grapefruit, and Mediterranean herbs, expressing the distinctive vinification process with hints of sweet spices or prolonged maceration. A great display of this variety, although we missed a few notable examples, as producers unfortunately didn’t put them on the tasting.
Course number three with the chameleon in the room – Pinot Gris, and seven expressions, each displaying different shades ranging from amber gold to light red. Hint of ripe peach, rosehip, hibiscus petals, red peppercorns, combined with sweet spices, were oozing from our glasses. This flight was probably the most diverse as it showed two extremes – a lighter version with less skin contact and a version produced in kvevri.
What is Brda’s most prominent variety? Ribolla Gialla, and here we had three flights consisting of six younger, seven aged and eight aged or with longer skin contact examples. Hints of raisin, grape skin, candied orange peel, combined with forest honey, sweet spices, and white pepper corn, were a common thread, firmly pointing Ribolla Gialla as the undisputed champion grape variety of Brda.
How to outperform such a display? Well, with the last two flights consisting of six and five cuvée wines. The unity of all these grapes can make a region shine, and this was evident also in my scores. The last two flights feature some of the highest marks of the tasting.
I approached the tasting with caution, as I had been disappointed many times with amber wines that can express high volatile acidity, oxidation, and general unclean characteristics. However, this time I was positively surprised, as the overall quality of the wines was excellent. Having such a number of amber wines affirmed the importance of this category for Brda. This implies the necessity of having those wines listed on the wine lists of respectable restaurants and wine bars, as well as raising the awareness of the general drinker to the quality of amber wines from Brda.
Make sure to follow “The Morning Claret” as the guide on Brda’s amber wines will be published in the following weeks!
