Opened up my latest stash from Boulder to try w/ my cottage cheese:
1. Burja PetiteBurja Zelen VipavaVlly/Slovenia (11.5%) PrimozLavrencia/Podraga 2010: Med.yellow color; fairly strong lemony/floral/spicy/carnations rather perfumed/aromatic quite attractive slight mineral/chalky nose; rather tangy/grapefruity bit lean/light bright lemony/floral/carnations slight metallic/mineral/chalky/piney/herbal flavor; med.long tangy/metallic/grapefruity btight/zippy lemony/appley/floral/carnations/spicy finish; quite a pretty and interesting white that's a pleasure to drink at a good price. $21.00 (BWM)
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And a wee BP:
1. Zelen is one of the autochthonous grape varieties in the Primorje region of Slovenia. "Zelen" is Slovene for "green".
The grape has a richly colored pulp and the must is usually filtered to avoid a wine of a bright emerald-green color. If the must is not filtered to avoid this color; the lees can decompose to give some nasty polyphenolics to the wine. The variety gives rather low yields, but has been enjoying somewhat of a renassiance of late. I think, of course, it's a variety they oughta be planting all up & down the Coast in Calif. It supposedly can age well.
This is quite a nice wine and rather interesting. It could, of course, be raised to the level of greatness by harvesting later, barrel fermented, higher alcohol, loads of lees-stirring, full ML fermentation, and slammed w/ toasty/new Fr.oak. Then we'd be talking "real" wine.
Tom