What a rarity I’ve picked for today … Šturm‘s Akord is a wine that will take your senses on an unexpected journey of flavours. We’re in Bela Krajina at one of the most prominent producers, who has importantly shaped one of our smallest wine districts’ ampelographic landscape.

Akord is a blend of Gewürztraminer, Yellow muscat and Bela krajina’s traditional variety Kraljevina. Now, looking at varieties, one would say: “Ah Valentin, you’re presenting us another sweet wine!”; but no, these grapes are vinified into a bone dry wine!

Berries for this wine are coming from four vineyards. Kraljevina counts for more than 30 years, Traminer with an average of 25 years and Muscat with 35 years planted on sandy marl at an altitude between 270 and 300 meters above sea level.

All three varieties are harvested when overripe, simultaneously. After grapes are destemmed and crushed, all three are mixed. The blend then macerates for little less than a month at a controlled temperature. Initially, it is low, but when fermentation kicks in doesn’t rise above 25° Celsius. It undergoes spontaneous fermentation, without the addition of selected yeasts and also malolactic fermentation.

After a gentle pressing, it is laid to refine into a combination of used oak barrels of 375 and 225 litres of French and Slavonian origin on fine lees. It matures there for three and a half years with constant bâtonnage. After the assemblage, it is bottled without filtration, and it undergoes further 6 months of bottle ageing before coming to the market.

The result is simply spectacular. A wine that has a crystalline, amber colour with a pronounced viscosity.

The bouquet is intense, alluring. It unveils aromas of dried white and yellow flowers with jasmine and rose petals, dried apple and papaya slices, dried apricot, candied orange, cinnamon stick, cloves, black cardamom, carob, dried Mediterranean herbs, even cognac, raisin, and a note of pencil tip.

The taste is a fashion show of intense sensations. Dry, soft, with a warm sensation. Freshness is crisp, and we perceive mineral saltines and tannins that help balance its sweeter side—a speciality with a vigorous body, of an intense and noble, long-lasting taste.

Akord is a real speciality that will surprise and allure many. But be prepared and expect the unexpected. Its complexity and elegance will blow your minds off while making you contemplate.

As mentioned, this wine is a rarity, as it has been produced only twice in the last decennia. With currently only 2011 and 2015 vintages on the market!