2013 Rodica Bela Sparkling Malvasia Brut

Region: Istria < Slovenia

Grapes: Malvazia Istriana

Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Certified organic farming; dry-farmed; 5 day skin maceration, then 5 months in 2,500 liter Acacia barrels, then 5 months in inox, frozen 2014 must is added to to top off and then bottled, secondary fermentation in bottle; not disgorged; bottled without fining or filtering with no added So2; 12.5% ABV

Within spitting distance of the Adriatic Sea, 5km away, Rodica is a family-run winery in Slovenia’s Istrian Peninsula that sits on top of a hill, overlooking the Gulf of Trieste.  Here the happy vines enjoy significant diurnal temperature swings which, combined with the constant breezes that flow through the vineyards, allow for organic farming and slow grape ripening (both very good things). We fell in love with this aromatic, elegant bubbly that drink somewhere between Pet’Nat and Champagne.  With 6 years of bottle age, the wine is settled and refined, with bright, floral and nectarine fruit and silky, precise bubbles. No weirdness, no funk, nothing cidery going on - just pure, classic fizz that would please everyone from grandma to your hipster cousin.