Heaps Good Wine Co / Slovenia

Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Muscat Ottonel and Wurzer, grown in the Pohorje Foothills, Lower Stryia.  Vines are at 300 – 400m altitude with the climate continental.  Varieties are hand picked and processed separately, fermented spontaneously in seasoned French oak, and aged on gross lees in barrels for 12 months.  11.5% alcohol.

Golden in colour, mixing rich fruit with reductive notes of flint and struck match.  It’s an attractive fruit spectrum of pineapple, oranges, citrus zest and apricots, progressing to stone fruits, with a mineral water-esque backbone.  Starts texturally light and builds weight to the finish.

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A wild blend: Pinot Noir, Blaufrankisch, Zweigelt, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Wurzer, Syrah, Yellow Muscat, all from the Pohorje Foothills, Lower Styria.  Zweigelt and Yellow Muscat are co-fermented, with all other varieties made separately.  Wurzer fermented on skins.  Wines are aged 12 months in older French oak and then in concrete.  Many vintages blended together.

Flavour-wise – wow.  Light on its feet but with plenty of flavour richness.  Ruby in colour, spicy red fruits, white pepper, a touch of oak, plums and cassis.  Velvety tannins and a tart finish (perhaps the white grapes coming through).  Tasty and a heck of a lot going on here.

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Furmint and Pinot Gris, grown in Malečnik, Maribor, Lower Styria.  300m altitude over sand, clay and marl, with the climate giving hot dry summers and snowy winters.  Varieties are hand picked and processed separately, fully destemmed, fermented wild and pressed off skins after the completion of alcoholic fermentation.  Raised in older French barrels for 12 months, 10.6% alcohol.

Proper orange in colour, orange peel, crunchy orange fruit, and flavours/mineral reminiscent of Berocca.  Nice acid structure, mouth watering, mild tannin presence, pepper, finishes long and clean.

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100% Pinot Noir, grown in Ritoznoj, Pohorje Foothills, Lower Styria.  Vines are at 360 metres over marl rich soils with sand and clay.  Climate is continental with hot and dry summers and snowy winters.  Hand picked, 10 – 20% whole bunch, 3 – 8 days of cold maceration depending on temperature of grapes when picked, and fermented wild.  Plunged daily, sometimes twice during peak period, with 17 – 23 days on skins in total.  Aged 12 months in older French oak, unfiltered.  11.5% alcohol.

Brick/light colour.  Reductive and earthy, reminiscent in some ways of Gippsland and Martinborough.  Structurally light, textured, cherry and plum fruits, with the tannins and finishing flavours evoking black tea.

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Vines sit at 340 metres, also from Ritoznoj, Pohorje Foothills, Lower Styria.  Destemmed and pressed, settled for 48 hours, wild fermented and bottled just prior to the end of fermentation.  Disgorged after 3 months in bottle, and contains sediment.

“Light and lean, grippy and chalky with tight, bristling bubbles. Dark cherry, cola, green dill herb and some saline-minerally characters. Rips along at pace, modest perfume, lighter weight feel in the palate, very bright, good refreshment factor. Drinks a charm.” 91 points, Mike Bennie, Winefront

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