Klet Brda – Rebula Bagueri, 2017

It’s official; DOK (Days of Open Cellars) Brda will happen! And what better occasion than to celebrate with a glass of Brda’s own Rebula. This time I’m swirling in the glass Klet Brda‘s oak refined Rebula from their Bagueri line.

There is something to Rebula, and I’m amazed by it every time an expression is poured into my glass. An what better reference than looking at Brda’s cooperative cellar. This time with a more refined expression coming from the selection of best hand-harvested grapes.

A combination of vineyards with south, south-east and eastern exposures aged between fifteen and forty years with altitudes ranging from 150 to 250 meters above sea level. Terraced vineyards are grassed and sustainably grown. Actually, it’s pretty impressive how Klet Brda has implemented its sustainability philosophy in every pore of its being.

I’m speaking not just at what’s on the label but also going beyond into the production. From vineyard work to sourcing of materials (like utilising PEFC certified barriques), waste management and looking after the community. Something that is becoming of imperative importance with our impact on the environment.

Selected berries fermented in 6.000 cone-shaped oak vinificators and barriques. The wine was then racked in the same vessels to mature for twelve months, undergoing partial malolactic fermentation. It was then bottled with coarse filtration.

Rebula Bagueri boasts a crystal clear, golden yellow colour with dense texture and tears slowly slipping along the glass walls.

The bouquet is lusciously seductive, with ripe pineapple, papaya, apricot, candied orange, yellow rose blossom, acacia, and lemon peel. Slowly notes of butter dough, vanilla, nutmeg, coconut, caramel, roasted almonds and rosemary open.

The mouthfeel is warmly soft but at the same time refreshing, underpinning a mineral signature typical for Brda. We also detect some slight tannins.

Darinko Ribolica and the cellar team managed to produce a full-bodied wine of balance, intensity, and long-lasting persistence again. The freshness, the alcohol and the touch of tannins will keep this Rebula Bagueri alive for a long time. It’s good already now, but it will be even better with evolution. I’d keep a couple of bottles safely stored and taste again in seven-plus years.

And look at the price tag of such a wine. It costs approximately 12 Eur, and you can get it at their online store, eVino, Koželj, Vinoteka Sodček, Mercator, Spar, The Wine & More and Laureate Imports.