You're right if you thought you've tasted Chardonnay from all over the world. And why try this too? Because here we have something new, different, and also not random. Chardonnay Cru Selection comes from a leading producer in Slovenia and has just arrived in our hands, to reveal aspects of the variety that we had never imagined.
Marjan Simcic is one of the big names among Slovenian producers and belongs to the fifth generation of winemakers, since his family has a huge history of growing vineyards, since 1860. Their vines are divided between the wine-growing zones of Slovenia's Brda and Collio of Italy. The position of both is very advantageous since it is between the Alps and the Mediterranean. The soil there has a huge diversity resulting in 3 different categories of wines, depending on their composition, at the point where the grapes grow. At the same time, the age of the vineyards in some cases enhances the uniqueness even more, since it exceeds 55 years.
Chardonnay Cru Selection Marjan Simcic comes from vineyards with very special soils, the so-called Opoka, which are a combination of granite, sand, and clay and give very high-quality fruit, resulting in their classification as Grand Cru. The Chardonnay vines are 21-56 years old and the grapes, after manual harvesting and strict sorting, are placed in conical oak barrels (of 3000 liters), where they ferment with the grape skins for 2 days. After removing the skins, the wine remains for an additional 18 months, in contact with the lees, in slightly smaller barrels (2500 liters). The complexity is further enhanced when, after bottling, it remains in the bottle for at least 2 months, until it is released on the market.
All of the above will be unnecessary once you try it and understand exactly what it is all about. Time has already rounded it and has promised to treat it accordingly in the next 10-12 years!
