Santomas – Refošk, 2018

Tonight we’re returning to the family Glavina to have a closer look at their Refosco, or Refošk, coming from the Santomas entry line, wearing a white label.

The village of Šmarje, where Santomas is home, is known for its stone transenna dating back to the 9^th century. This stone carved window is presented on each of their labels to emphasize their provenance.

Grapes are handpicked at three locations Sergaši, Izola and the hill above their estate. 2018 was the last vintage to use grapes from Izola, as they switched now to use those from Čerteze, another one of their premium lieu-dit, which we’ll look at in one of my next posts. The altitudes vary from 100 to 200 meters above sea level, with vineyards aged between 15 to 50.

Grapes are chilled overnight. The next day they get destemmed and sorted on the sorting table. The best ones are used and put in a vinificator to ferment at temperatures between 22 and 28 ° Celsius for up to a week. Following a gentle pressing, the wine with fine lees ferments fully in a stainless vat, also conducting malolactic fermentation.

After a couple of months, it is transferred into a 3.000-litre barrel and a combination of 350 and 225-litre oak barrels of French wood for 12 months. Finally, it is bottled, and after a few months of bottle-ageing, it enters the market.

This Refosco has a deep, ruby red colour with a purple tip.

It seduces with intense aromas of ripe wild berries, cherries, strawberry jam, butter, vanilla, red rose, cinnamon and light herbal notes.

The taste is intense. Its softness nicely pairs with its pronounced freshness and velvety tannins. It boasts an extractive, full body that takes us onto a seductive journey of elegance with a long-lasting taste.

With Santomas, you can always rest assured you’ll buy state of the art expressions of this grape. Even if this is an entry line wine that will cost you 11 Eur per bottle, it can pride itself on a silver medal with 91 points at Decanter’s World Wine Awards. You can stock up with it at Koželj and easily store it for 5 years as it will only evolve.