Iaquin – Malvazija, 2018

Let’s head back to Brda today to look at Malvasia’s big and bold expression over at the beautiful villa Iaquin. We’ve looked at some of their wines, and now you’re familiar with their style. Wines are marked by maceration in French barrique barrels and show character and structure.

Such is the case with this Malvasia. Grapes are coming from a vineyard expending above 80 to 100 meters above sea level with Opoka at the top to layers of washed soil at its bottom. This creates an exciting mixture of berries that tend to be overripe at the top, giving extraction and body to those giving finesse, crispiness and longevity moving to the lower parts of the vineyard, which now counts for 15 years of age.

Hand-harvest is done exclusively with a rigorous grape selection already in the vineyard. Following destemming, berries are left in the press to macerate for up to three hours slightly. After gentle pressing, grape juice is racked in stainless vats to clarify overnight. It is then transferred to a vinificator, where fermentation starts with the addition of selected yeast. After two days, the still fermenting juice is racked into a combination of new and used Cadus barriques, where it matures for a year. Batonnage is involved, and the wine also conducts malolactic conversion. Finally, it is bottled and left to mature in the cellar for a year before entering the market.

Iaquin’s Malvasia has a crystalline, golden yellow colour with a dense texture.

Sumptuous aromas are revealing this wine’s maturation in oak. Caramel, vanilla, cedar, cinnamon, black cardamom, herbs, butter, roasted pineapple, apple, apricot, saffron, citrus peel, hazelnut and a note of hot stone.

The taste is intense, virtuous, with oily texture but at the same time fresh and minerally salty. It is an elegant, full-bodied wine with a long, mainly mineral aftertaste with the aroma of mature stone and tropical fruit, with oak imparted flavours.

It displays an immense ageing potential, and it will only develop, soften and further incorporate aromas coming from the production process. I wouldn’t mind trying it again in seven-plus years. A bottle will cost you 18 Eur, and you can currently order it straight at the winemaker by sending an e-mail to uros@iaquin.si, ales@iaquin.si or by calling the number +386 41 456 506.