This year the summer vacation was used for getting to know the Slovenian wine. To that reason, my boyfriend and I visited Lavrenčič estate in Vipava Valley in Slovenia. The estate is family owned and run. In the following post I will shortly describe the estate itself (the estate information is from their homepage www.lavrencic-estate.com) and the wines we had the pleasure to taste, there will also be some pictures shared.
Lavrenčič estate can be found in a village named Duplje (Vipava Valley).
The year of 2013 was the year when the trademark of Lavrenčič estate was established. "We believe in knowledge and hard work, and we also believe that these two things are most important for the path of success." - quote from their home page.
What is really interesting is their logo, the design itself, and the story behind it.
The five roses on the logo represent the five family members of the Lavrenčič family. The years by the roses are the birth years of each of the family members. The top two roses are for the parents, and the other three roses are for the three sisters. - I think this is soooo cool. It is so much history and such a great story in it! Also, the logo could be seen on the corks on each bottled bottle. So cool!
Bellow are few vineyard pictures from the Lavrenčič estate, taken by Matej Velikonja.
The tasting part was led by Matej, he has such a great passion for wine and knows what he is talking about ;)
Few key facts:
- The typical soil for Vipava Valley is marl (lapor in Slovene), the soil consists of few thin layers of soil, and it does not hold water on the surface.
- All wines are made in a classical French style.
- All bottled wines have a cork and not a screw cap. For fresh wines, the top and the bottom part of the cork are synthetic. For the wines meant for long storage, the corks are not synthetic covered.
- All the grapes are hand-picked.
- Most of the vineyard is low yield planted because it is desired a high-quality wine and not high volume production.
- The barrels are all from French oak.
The wines
Pinot Gris 2018
On the nose: it has aromas of ripe orange, white peach.
Taste: baked peach, ripe orange.
Aftertaste: Rosmarin, baked herbs. - long aftertaste
It is a fresh wine to be drunk within three years, and it is not meant for storage. It is a stronger wine with 13% abv.
The fermentation is controlled and done in INOX inert vessels.
Sauvignon 2018
Fun fact: In Slovenia, the winemakers use only the word Sauvignon when labeling a Sauvignon Blanc wine.
It has pleasant warm aromas, like baked fruit, peach, some citrus.
Incredible minerality, reminding as wet salty stone. (due to the soil).
The drinking window is up to 3 years.
In the winemaking process, an artificial yeast is used, and the fermentation is controlled and done in INOX inert vessels.
Rebula classic 2016 (classic it means it is done by the classic winemaking method)
It is a late harvest wine (always at the end of September).
The grapes for this wine were affected by Boytritis, so the aromas and the taste had some classical Boytritis aroma and flavor.
The skin of the grapes is thick and full of tannins. Clusters are not tight together.
The maceration period is 21 days; it is fermented in barrique barrels for 20 months on the sur lie method.
This wine has a great long term storage potential, which can be 15 + years.
Rebula classic 2018
We tasted this one directly from the barrel. What an experience.
It is still a very fresh, young wine with intense yeast aromas.
Sauvignon - Pinot Gris 2018
It is basically a blend between the Sauvignon and the Pinot Gris mentioned above. It had aromas as a fresh (baked) dough.
Merlot 2017
Tasted directly from the barrel.
Aromas as cherries, plums, I also got a cherry yogurt (a new aroma for me).
The tannins are light, and there is a lot of fresh fruit aromas because the barrels are new.
Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
This one has 14 % abv, medium tannins, and typical "animal" aromas.
The barrel used for this one was restored.
I also got an exciting aroma - egg salad, but not in a bad way. This one was also new for me :D
With the tasting, we were also served homemade cheese, homemade olive bread, and of course homemade (in-house) olive oil.
Below are a few pictures taken by me at the tasting evening.
If you find yourself in the Vipava Valley. go and visit the Lavrenčič estate, you will not be disappointed!. At the beginning of this post is their home page link, feel free to contact them. Also, follow them on Instagram - "lavrencic_estate".
As always Have a WINEderful day!