Cracked this oldie from my stash last night:
1. Batic Angel GrandeCuvee Rezerva V.O. Vipacska Dolina Dry WW (13.5%; www.batic.si; Pinela/Rebula/Zelen/Sauvignon/Chardonnay/Pinot Gris/Klarnica/Friulano/Vitovska; BlueDanubeImprts/LosAltos) VipavaDolina/Slovenia 2009: Deep golden/burnished bronze color; strong phenolic/VM/resinous/pungent rather honeyed/honey graham/graham cracker slight orangey/citric/lemony light earthy quite complex beautiful/exotic nose; lightly tart/tangy very rich/lush modest VM/phenolic/resonous strong honeyed/honey grahams/graham cracker slight orangey/lemony beautiful complex flavor w/ very gentle tannins; very long/lingering quite honeyed/honey grahams/orangey/lemony lightly phenolic/VM very rich/lush/smooth very complex finish that goes on&on w/ very light/smooth tannins; a beautiful/exotic example of a fully mature VM w/ loads of complexity; this is exactly what a VM can turn into & why its such an exciting category of wine; a natural wine but perfectly clean & no signs of natty character.
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More bleeblesnort from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. This wine originally came from BlueDanube Wine Imprts. The company is now known as Danch & Granger and no longer sells direct to consumer. BlueDanube had an exceptional portfolio of wines from Central Europe. The Danch&Granger portfolio is much larger and even ore impressive.
When I did a two day visit to Slovenia's Vipava Dolina/Valley, I tasted a lot of the Vipave Vlly wines at the tasting room in Vipava. The one wnry that sttod out were the wines of Batich. So I ordered a case from BlueDanube when I returned.
The VipavaVlly is a little know growing area in Western/South Slovenia. They have a number of indigeneous grapes varieties that are only found in the VipavaVlly; like Zelen/Pinella/Vitovoska. There are a lot of very old vnyds in the valley. It sorta strikes me as an under-peforming area in Slovenia. The growing conditions look to be ideal.
Batic is a natural wine producer, though they don't advertise themselves as "natural". Their whites, including this Angel, are made with extended skin-contact. When I originally tasted this wine upon purchase, it was pretty typical young ViniMacerati...rather austere/phenolic/tannic. This Angel was a spectacular example of how VM can develop w/ some/a lot of age. When I first opened it at a somewhat cool temperature, it was a bit austere. But as it warmed up to room temperature (we're having a heat wave here in LosAlamos & it's been in the upper 80's outside), it turned incredibly rich & smooth. Spectacular wine.
Tom