It was in 1988 when Marjan Simčič, together with his wife Valerija, re-established the old family winery, dating back to 1860, in the heart of the Slovenian Collio, Brda. Marjan’s focus, in an area traditionally suited to maceration of white wines and a strictly natural viticulture, is to respect the territory of course, but without excluding from the vineyard and the cellar the fundamental contribution of modern techniques.
Today the winery has about 18 hectares, within which some plants date back to over fifty years ago. For the territory, this is not a small heritage, in an area that is usually quite fragmented, which offers ideal climatic conditions for the growth of vines thanks to the warm marine air that comes from the Friulian Plain and the shelter that the Julian Alps and the plateau of Ternova create against the mountain cold. And then the soils, lying on the typical flysch hills of Gorizia, marl and sandstone, do the rest, producing a range of sumptuous and long-lived wines, but at the same time mineral and sharp.
The younger vines produce the company's classic line, including the Ribolla Gialla, which in Slovenia is called Rebula, which stands out for its traditional nature. Moreover, in a landscape now widely scattered with international excellence, Ribolla is the most representative white native, along with Friulano. In Marjan Simčič’s interpretation, the classic Ribolla macerates on its skins for about 48 hours. A maceration, therefore, which is graceful and far from invasive, which best preserves the freshness and typicality of the grape variety, without, however, giving up structure and complexity.
After staying in steel for at least 7 months on the lees and at least a month in the bottle, this Ribolla is of a beautiful light yellow colour with golden reflections and the bouquet expresses fragrances of lemon, green apple, citrus fruits, and grapefruit. Of course there is also an almond-flavoured background of dried fruit, which is still tight while it’s young, the son of maceration. On the palate it offers a fruity approach that reaches perfection thanks to the harmony of the acids, the full body and the minerality, which is at times salty but never angular.
