Showing posts with label Slovenia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Slovenia. Show all posts

Monday, November 16, 2015

Trust Your Importer - Great Wines From Slovenia

Blue Danube Wines is one of those importers you want to check in with from time to time. For those who don't have an extensive knowledge of wines from countries other than the US, a good importer is a good thing to know. Importers tend to find the wines they like, and bring them home to the rest of us. So, if Slovenia, for instance, or some other Central European country catches your fancy, Blue Danube Wines has a full portfolio of wines that are uniformly great.

When I was invited by Blue Danube to attend a tasting reception with Jean-Michel Morel (pictured) of Kabaj Wines, how could I refuse? They had never steered me wrong before. The event was sparsely attended at Culver City's Hatchet Hall, which has a great tasting bar in the back of the restaurant.

Morel is described as a "bad ass" winemaker. He is actually quite personable and very friendly. His wines lifted Kabaj (ka BYE) to be included on Wine & Spirits Magazine Top 100 Wineries list for 2015. The winery is in Goriška Brda, Slovenia, right across the border from Italy’s Collio region. In their respective languages, Collio and Brda mean "hills." Brda’s hills of marl and flysch, are the remains of an ancient limestone seabed. Their steep slopes offer quite a range of micro climates.

For generations, the Kabaj family has grown grapes, but it was not until winemaker Morel married into the family that they started making their own wine. The first vintage of Kabaj wine came in 1993.

The Kabaj wines are produced mainly - 70% - from white grapes, and all wines are aged at least 12 months. When used, French oak is preferred. Morel is nothing if not passionate about his cellar techniques. "Step by step. We do it the right way. It is not to rush out the wine to the market. 2015? No. No." He was pretty emphatic about that, so I would take it as his winemaking philosophy.

All the Kabaj presented at the tasting showed intense minerality and great acidity.

2008 Rebula - You might know this grape better as Ribolla - it is Morel's signature grape.  Lovely savory apricot honey. Great acid, savory lime and lanolin. Fresh, lots of vigor. Great, unusual flavor.

2011 Ravan - This white is flinty from the limestone. Savory saline palate.
2012 Ravan - Less flinty, more apricot and pear.

2012 Sivi Pinot - We would call it a Pinot Grigio. Showing a pink blush, muted strawberry, cherry and lime flavors are persistent.

2010 Luisa - This white wine - orange, actually - shows a beautiful copper color in the glass. Mineral-driven, savory nose, earthy palate.

2010 Merlot - Smoky black cherry and coffee on the nose, with a palate of tart cherry and raspberry. Huge minerals.

2009 Cuvée Morel - Merlot,Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot make a nose of minerals and black cherry. There is a tart edge on the palate with earth, fine tannins and a raspberry finish.

2006 Amfora - This wine stays in contact with the grape skins an amazin one year. The beautiful, golden color is deep and rich. A nose of honeyed apricot, flint and limestone lead to a palate of savory apricot. Lots of age here, showing beautifully. A massive white wine.

Amfora wine has a history dating back thousands of years to the Georgian culture. Ribolla, Malvasia and Sauvignon Vert (Tokai) grapes are destemmed in clay pots and held with the skins after fermentation. In the first month, the wine is stirred six times a day, then the pots are closed for ten months. Then, it goes into oak barrels for another year.


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Friday, September 28, 2012

Out Of The Blue Wine Tasting: Blue Danube Wine Company


The wines of Slovenia and Croatia don't get a lot of exposure except to certified wine geeks who seek out these gems.  Blue Danube Wine Company specializes in importing wines from eastern and central Europe from their base in northern California.  We are all richer that they do.

The Out of the Blue tasting event was held on September 17, 2012 at Los Angeles wine bar Bacaro.  I'm ashamed to say I had never explored the place before, but the discovery is a good one.  The small, rustic interior has chalkboard wine menus featuring small-production wines from all over the world.  They even carry some of the hard-to-pronounce items imported by Blue Danube.  They also have a great kitchen, and I'll mention the food after we cover the wines that were poured at the event.

Frank Dietrich and Michael Newsome were pouring as fast as they could to a small, but appreciative crowd that seemed quite knowledegable about the wines.  I seemed to be one of the few who stumbled over the names of the wines and wineries.

Dietrich told me that "Slovenians like their white wines aromatic."  "Aromatic" and "floral" kept popping up in my tasting notes so much I was beginning to feel I had a tired palate that day.  There were plenty of "nutty" flavors on hand, too - sometimes going hand in hand with the floral aspect.  Grapes like Yellow Muscat and Malvasia are used quite a bit in the whites, but we also see a lot of Ravan (formerly Tocai Friulano,) Rebula (known as Ribollo in Italian,) Pinela and Pinot Gris.  Chardonnay and Riesling also turn up from time to time.  It's worth noting, there were only a handful of wines poured which sold for more than $20 per bottle.

We started with a couple of nice sparkling wines produced by Kogl, in Eastern Slovenia.  One was made using Riesling, Yellow Muscat, Chardonnay and Furmint grapes, while the other was all Pinot Noir.  Both were toasty, and the latter showed a darker fruit flavor.

The western part of Slovenia was represented by Kabaj and Batic, which poured whites that are largely nutty tasting and reds that are lean, acidic and slightly tart.  I don't know if it has been tried, but cold-climate producers in the U.S. should get some cuttings.  My favorite Slovenian white was the Batic 2008 Pinela, a funky and complex wine showing straw and guava flavors.  I was wowed by the Kabal '08 Merlot - smokey and tart on the nose with great dark fruit and acidity on the palate.  Dietrich says, "it's still very young."  The Batic '09 Cabernet Franc is showing beautifully, with red fruit and an herbal note.  It is quite expressive.

Croatia is crazy about Malvasia.  Examples from Coronica, Terzolo and Piquentum exhibited savory tendencies that are irresistible.  As for the Croatian reds, Stoka's '09 Teran provided a hard edge for the raspberry fruit.  Dingac Winery puts the minerals up front in their '10 Peljesac and throws in some spice for their '08 Postup, a single-vineyard Plavic Mali wine from high up on a hillside.

Milos scores with their '08 Plavac and '05 Stagnum, two reds with great acidity and an amazingly light touch with the fruit.  Both are extremely focused wines.

Tastes of tapas were served by the crew at Bacaro LA.  A crostini with salmon and red onion on a spead of parsley cream cheese was a hit, and so was the one with blue cheese, apple and pepper sauce.  A panini of mozzarella and rosemary honey was reordered quickly, while a morsel featuring eggplant, sea salt and basil also had many fans.

Danny was the guy in charge, and he told me they had been open there - just south of the Santa Monica Freeway near downtown Los Angeles - for about five years.  He says Bacaro has a full house nearly every night, with grad students and profs from USC joined by locals and folks from as far away as Santa Monica.  Their small plates menu is delicious, and their wines keep things interesting.  Danny says that's why the wines imported by Blue Danube are such a good fit there.  They complement the food in taste as well as spirit.


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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Blue Danube Wine Company At Port4lio, Los Angeles 2012


The Danube River flows through Central Europe for over 1,700 miles - from the Black Forest to the Black Sea.  Along the way are wine regions producing wines which can legitimately be called hidden gems.  The wines of Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia are well worth exploring for the taste alone.  The sense of history that comes with each sip is a bonus.  You can also find an easy way to add some exotic grapes to your Century Club efforts.

The Blue Danube Wine Company is a wine distributor with a mission.  The San Francisco-based wholesaler is bent on making wine lovers of the United States aware of the fine wines they import from Central Europe, from those hidden gem areas along the blue Danube.

At the recent Port4lio tasting event in Culver City, California, I had the chance to sample from a literal smorgasbord of wines featuring producers, grapes and wine regions with which I had little experience - and even less success in pronouncing.  Fortunately, Blue Danube’s Frank Dietrich and Stetson Robbins were there to help out the tasters with pours and pronunciation.

Juris Winery is near Gols, Austria - just southeast of Vienna near the Neusiedler See.  Winemaker Axel Stiegelmar (right) was on hand to present his wines personally.

Stiegelmar talked of his four-story winery, which utilizes gravity to help make a smaller carbon footprint.  He talked of his family’s winemaking tradition, which dates back to the 1500s..  What he really loves to talk about are his grapes, mainly St. Laurent, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.  For this event, Stiegelmar poured his red wines.

The Juris ‘10 Zweigelt lives up to the expectations held by lovers of this grape.  The smoky nose, the earthy fruit, the firm tannins and razor-sharp acidity all contribute on the way to the incredible finish.  More strong earthiness comes on the nose of the ‘09 St. Laurent, which leads to a beautiful sour cherry flavor.

The Juris reserve wines are made from older vines.  Stiegelmar says, “the vines are mature enough so the roots have reached down below the top layer of soil into the mineral layer below.”  The mineral aspect does come through significantly on the ‘08 Pinot Noir Reserve, along with raspberry and strawberry and a mouth-watering acidity.  The ‘09 St. Laurent Reserve shows great minerals and sour cherry on the palate.

A beautiful blend - the Juris ‘09 Ina Mera is 40% Cabernet Sauvignon,, 30% Merlot and 30% Blaufrankisch.  It is very clean and earthy with bright acidity.  The wine is playful in the mouth with a long, gorgeous finish.

Slovenian producer Batic - an organic estate in the Vipava Valley - covered a wide range of styles with just a few wines.  The Batic ‘06 Pinot Gris tastes like candied green apples.  The ‘08 Pinela - a grape grown only in this small area - is a refreshing white with great acidity.  The ‘09 Cabernet Franc shows dense forest fruit on the nose and a taste of tart raspberry.  As I found over and over at this event, the wine has excellent acidity.

Also from Slovenia, Kabaj - pronounced ka-bay - is located in the far western part of the country, immediately next to Italy, in the Goriska Brda region.  Two whites produced with skin contact presented intense minerals.  The ‘09 Beli Pinot is a Pinot Blanc possessing an earthy acidity, while the ‘09 Sivi Pinot is a Pinot Grigio exploding with minerals, earth and green apples.

Coastal Croatian Reds included one from Terzolo, in Istria.  The ‘09 Teran was described by Robbins as “a masochistic wine.”  It is a bit tannic, but I didn’t feel I was looking for trouble by enjoying it.

Bibich produces wine in Skradin, North Dalmatia.  Their ‘09 R6 Riservo - made of Babich, Lasin and Plavina grapes - is very old world, with high acidity and nervy, savory flavors.

Dingac Winery, from the Peljesac Peninsula of Dalmatia, poured several wines made from Plavic Mali, the Croatian version of Zinfandel.  Their ‘10 Plavac is surprisingly smooth for a grape that is known for its tannic nature.  The ‘10 Peljesac is a little bigger and shows some spiciness, while the ‘08 Postup has a big mineral display.

There were some lovely sparkling wines, too.  Törley - Hungary’s famous sparkling wine producer - had four bubblies represented.  Gala blends Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Királyleányka.  Fresh apples grace the nose and palate.  Fortuna - Muskat Ottonel, Irsal Olivér and Muskat Lunel - is fabulously sweet.  More sweetness comes from Hungaria Grand Cuvée brut, a Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling blend.  It captivates with a beautiful, sweet floral expression.  The Tokaji has beautiful sweetness tempered by a healthy dollop of minerality.

Kogl - from Štajerska, Slovenia - went the other way with it.  The non-vintage Albus Clasique of Riesling, Yellow Muskat, Chardonnay and Furmint grapes is a dry sparkler showing earthy minerals and toast.  The non-vintage Rubellus Clasique is made from Pinot Noir as a rosé.  It has a nice, funky, toasty nose with a beautiful and elegant on the palate.

If you want a real education in the wines of Central Europe, a visit to the Blue Danube website is an absolute must.


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