Let’s spoil us tonight with Brda’s white queen – Rebula. And what better choice than this barrique matured Rebula from Movia. A true delight that will further spice-up the new episode of MasterChef, which just about started.

The vineyard for this Rebula is named Java. Vines count for 15 to 25 years and are planted in Brda’s Opoka – a marl and limestone mixture. Terraced vineyards are facing southwest exposures.

Following manual harvest at optimal ripeness, grapes are destemmed and mashed. Then put in stainless vats to macerate for two weeks, with spontaneous fermentation. After two weeks, the mash is gently pressed and racked into French oak barriques to mature for 18 months. The wine is then bottled without filtration and waits for further four months in bottle before coming to the market.

This Rebula has an extractive, golden yellow colour with an amber hue and dense texture.

Its intense bouquet evokes ripe red apple, apricot, yellow fig, yellow plum, orange peel, papaya, carambola, yellow rose, and a note of herbs where we notice rosemary, anise, with endnotes of almonds, hazelnuts and toffee.

The mouthfeel is soft, and the alcohol nicely underlies the structure. Freshness combines well with the softness of the wine, with distinctive mineral salinity, and the mouth is dried by perceptible tannins, which act slightly spicy.

This is a structured Rebula with an intense taste and lasting, elegant persistence.

It displays as a harmonious wine that will only upgrade its elegance through maturation. Drink now, but will evolve over the coming years. I’d keep it stored for at least the next five years, just to see how it evolved. A bottle will cost you approximately 20 Eur, and you can currently find it at 8wines, XtraWine and TuamV.