Kupljen – Skywalker, 2018

Drive the horses, dust the bolides and start that famous march written by the legendary John Williams in 1977. I’m talking about the march “Fanfare and prologue“, which greets us at the beginning of the famous science-fiction franchise.

It could start in the style of “A long time ago, in a galaxy far away …” but we’ll stay right in our galaxy in a more recent period. Let’s start, tararaaaam “27 years ago, in a region not so far away, in Svetinjsko Ormošle gorice Kupljeni planted an exceptional vineyard.”

“There, in the southeastern parts of Svetinje, at about 250 meters above sea level, a regiment of soldiers was planted in the soil of modest slope, which is adorned with marl at the top, sandstone in the middle and heavy loamy soil at the lowest point.”

“But they weren’t just soldiers; no, the force was strong in them – which the Kupljen family knew all the time. She was so strong that it was necessary to hide her from the congregation and give her a heroic name that will safely and successfully take her to the stars. ”

“That hero is Skywalker. A saviour of a special variety who has to show off a fantasy name all these years. But new hope came upon him too. The hope, which was confirmed in February this year by the entry of Merlot in the register of permitted grape varieties in the Podravje wine-growing region.”

That’s right. This February has brought quite a few novelties in the landscapes of our varietal compositions. The need to redefine it has been pointed out by our winegrowers for many years, as climate change significantly impacts the maturation and final quality of the wine. Thus, on August 17^th 2020, we saw the proposed changes, and this February 19^th, these changes became a fact.

And here’s this one of our heroes, Skywalker, walking through the star tracks. Otherwise boldly named, as is Samo Kupljen, who is a big fan of the previously mentioned sci-fi franchise.

You could say that it is a varietal wine, but Samo says it contains a minority share of Pinot Noir and Blaufränkisch. We are in the Stars of Styria line, where they approach the production process with special care. Only selected clusters are hand-picked, destemmed and mashed. This mash then macerates for six weeks at a controlled temperature, after which the wine matures in barrels for another twenty-four months. Exceptionally, this wine matures in American barrique barrels. Finally, Skywalker is bottled without filtration.

Skywalker displays its force already with the appearance. It boasts a deep ruby ​​red colour, with a slightly translucent edge and a dense texture. Tears slowly slide down the walls of the glass.

Its aroma is strong, of ripe berries with cherry, blackberry, sour cherries, and violet petals. Another breath reveals notes of smoke, coffee, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, cocoa, hummus, black pepper and mint.

The mouthfeel is soft, pleasantly refreshing our mouth, and then slowly rounding tannins appear, drying off our mouth. We also notice a hint of minerality. Perceptions of blackberries, smoke, coffee and herbs are reconfirmed in the mouth.

Skywalker presents himself as an elegant, interstellar, corpulent hero, with intense force and an enduring taste. A wine of character that was produced in a not so typical terroir for him. Nevertheless, it successfully defies and shows how strong his force is, as this is a wine that will only evolve and intensify for at least the next five years.

A bottle will cost you approximately 15 Eur, and you can get it at Koželj, Deliz and Vinoteka Sodček. This description originally appeared at the O vinu wine portal.