Vina Stekar "Morus Alba" Littoral Goriška Brda Z.G.P., 2017

Stekar (of Vina Stekar) has started a small side project with old vines from a different part of the Goriska Brda. The Morus winery started with the 2016 harvest, after Janko Tomenic and Jure Stekar collaborated with some incredible old vines from Jankos property in the Goriska Brda.

The concept is simple, make stunning natural wine from this amazing piece of land, which is home to 4 different grapes: Sivi Pinot, Sauvignonasse (Tokai), Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Jure makes the wines at his cellar, focusing on a very soft hand during the process, skin fermentations for the white wines, natural fermentations in old barrels, and aging in the same neutral vessels. He is not dogmatic about not using sulfur, but uses only minimal amounts depending on the vintage’s needs. This side project of Jure’s is offering some truly expressive and dynamic wines from a different exposure in the region, and itwill be exciting to watch the wines develop as the project grows.

Morus translates to theMulberry tree, which is the imageon the label; Alba means white. The 2017 Morus ‘Alba’comes from a gorgeous old plot of Sivi Pinot (Pinot Grigio) that averages about 55 years in age. The earth is Opoka, which is a lime-rich soil like marl, which gives a sense of class and minerality to the grapes, especially as the vines get older and search deeper into the ground.

The fruit was all hand-harvested and brought immediately to the Vina Stekar cellar for natural fermentation in 225L French barrique where it stayed with its skins for 30 days before being pressed. Another 18 months of aging in these neutral barrels gave the wine ample time to mature and create an incredibly deep texture and palate for the unfined and unfiltered finished wine.

A gorgeous salmon orange hue pours from the bottle to the glass and shows aromas of peach and nectarine skin, crushed rocks, and distant wild flowers. In the mouth, there are ample tannins to give grip to the focused fruit and fresh minerality that is persistent all the way through until the finish. Let this wine breath in the glass so that it can be as expressive as it is meant to be.

PAIR WITH GRILLED SWORDFISH AND WHITE BEANS AND FRESH GREEN SALADS.