Kristian Keber – Brda, 2017

The night calls for an artisanal, characterful wine produced in the old, artisanal ways. We’re in Brda’s village of Plešivo, where Kristian Keber crafts this archaic but pristine expression of the terroir in his only produced blend, simply named Brda.

Brda is a blend of 50 % Rebula, 40 % Sauvignon Vert, and 10 % Malvasia Istriana, with grapes from the same forty-year-old vineyard. Vines are planted at an altitude of 160 meters above sea level, exclusively biodynamically farmed, at slopes facing southwest.

Grapes were hand-picked later, with some touched by botrytis. Whole bunches macerated with spontaneous fermentation for one month with two years of maturation in large oak barrels. Little So2 is added before bottling without filtration, and after a year of resting, it finally comes to the market.

Brda shows a hazy, golden yellow colour with an amber hue and a dense texture.

We detect just a touch of botrytis that acts as a spice. It is followed by dried apricots, candied orange, tangerine, honeydew melon, honey acacia, chamomile and rosemary. All leading to a vanilla, butter, anise, white pepper, persimmons and dried mango slices crescendo.

Brda is dry, fairly warm, refreshing, with mineral salty and slightly astringent. Intense on the palate, full-bodied with a lasting, elegant persistency. Flavours of apricot, mango and candied orange peel predominate, leaving a hint of herbs and anise.

Kristian Keber looks after a little less than two hectares of vines and produces 2.000 bottles of this little gem, so you really need to look for this wine. I was lucky to purchase a bottle at the Home of Rebula store in Dobrovo castle, so be sure to stop by next time you’re strolling around. It used to be available at eVino, and some bottles are available at Call me wine and Raw wine. The price – 27,50 Eur.