Steyer – Steyer Mark, Traminer Exclusive, 2015

Today’s post is about passion, belief and proof. If we think of Traminer in Slovenia, one name stands as the archetype for this variety. We’re talking about Danilo Steyer, and we’ll have a look at a one of a kind expression of Gewürztraminer, which we find under the Exclusive line.

Grapes are coming from Aženski hill, from a grassy vineyard that counts 25 years, and the soil is a mixture of sandy loam and clay with southern exposition. Steyer’s follow low-intervention methods.

Before harvest, Danilo cultivates a yeast starter with grapes from the vineyard. Grapes are handpicked when overripe. After destemming and crushing, the mash is moved into 500-litre acacia barrels for one week, at temperatures of up to 20 ° Celsius.

The mash is gently pressed and moved to mature into used oak and acacia barrels of 225-litre for two years. It is bottled without filtration and undergoes a final bottle-ageing of almost two years. As with the Exclusive line, it came on the market at the end of 2020, 5 years after the harvest.

All this results in a crystal clear Gewürztraminer with golden yellow colour and dense texture.

The bouquet is sophisticated, seductive, but at the same time, determined. It reveals ripe quince, liquorice, dried apricots, pineapple slices, candied citruses, dried yellow roses, jasmine and chamomile, forest honey, caramel, roasted nuts and a touch of iodine.

The taste is vigorously intense. Soft, warm, but at the same time fresh, salty and intriguingly astringent. It boasts a complex structure with a persistent taste of accentuated elegance. As in a due manner, it introduces to us as “Traminer, Mister Traminer!”.

This wine presents a different shade of Gewürztraminer by emphasising its potential as an extractive, structured stud that will accompany the main dishes and lovers of macerated white wines. You feel Danilo’s mastery, as even if macerating and extended barrel ageing, it still kept the aromatic varietal profile.

You can get Steyer’s wines at eVino and Koželj, but this one is available for now by ordering straight at the winemaker. A bottle will cost you 49 Euros.