Klinec

The Klinec family has been producing wine with commitment, passion and sacrifice for a century in the small Slovenian village of Dobrovo, just a stone's throw from the Italian-Slovenian border. The winery, founded in the dark days following the First World War, initially only produced cheap bulk wines as it was impossible to sell bottles to private individuals. It is located in the magical land of the Collio Goriziano (translated as "Brda" in the Slovenian language), in a small piece of land that is nestled between the final white mountains of the Alps to the north and the deep blue Adriatic Sea to the south. It is a rich and ancient land, which today is dominated by green expanses of forests and meadows mixed with yellow-brown sandstone marls, although it was once submerged by the prehistoric sea. When the sea receded, it left its mark on the land in the form of minerals, Eocene rocks (known as flysch) and marine fossils. The Assilina Medanicam fossil, for example, is named after the village of Medana, where the Klinec estate is located today, and which has also become a farm guest house, managed by Aleks Klinec and his wife Simona since 1993. Aleks is an intelligent and sensitive person who speaks several languages and has a deep love for wine production as he believes it is the instrument of the earth with which one can "transmit emotions".

Klinec follows organic farming methods and the biodynamic principles of Michel Barbaud. The compounds he uses for fertilisation come from manure, grasses and hay from his own land. Aleks has made a courageous and respectful choice, which has paid off in the form of spontaneous, highly expressive and unconventional liquids. The vines, caressed by sea breezes and rooted in healthy soil that is rich in wild herbs, rise from the gentle hills at an altitude of 150-180 metres and are organised in 6.5 hectares, which are divided into nine plots. The varieties grown are Ribolla Gialla (known locally as "Rebula"), Friulano (or "Jakot"), Malvasia Istriana, Pinot Grigio, Verduzzo Friulano, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In the cellar, the must from hand-picked and selected grapes ferments spontaneously with indigenous yeasts and macerates on the skins in cement tanks. Ageing takes place in wooden barrels (acacia and mulberry for the whites, cherry and oak for the reds) for 2 to 3 years. Bottling takes place without invasive processes, such as filtration or clarification, and with a minimum addition of sulphites.

The wines of Klinec bring back the genuine, traditional character of wines produced as they used to be in the past. These macerated white and red wines are not for everyone, and are deep and decidedly territorial, characterised by a raw freshness, a saline base, a typically mineral tone and a wealth of ripe fruit. At times there is also a slight volatile note that is balanced among the many different aspects of each sip. These are pulsating, lively, and radiant wines that speak Slovenian with an Italian accent.