2006 Gravner Bianco Breg
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Tasting notes
For the first time this wine was aged in qvevri. From a 'very good' growing season. The alcoholic strength is evidence of Gravner's lack of interest in analytics. Bottled only in magnum. Glowing ruby. Now this is really interesting on the nose. Sweet treacle/molasses flavours. Two magnums were opened and I enjoyed both even though the first had a very unusual nose that wine trader Bud Cuchet rightly suggested was of that curry-like plant you smell in the countryside in the south of France. (He claimed the next magnum reminded him of celery salt.) The alcohol was pretty obvious but not distasteful. What a dramatically rich wine! (JR)
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Orange wine with a red tinge. Lots of blood oranges, cranberries and candied apple aromas. Full body, slight tannic texture and a fruity finish. Fun and thought-provoking. A blend of chardonnay, pinot grigio, riesling and others. Drink now.
Ash, smoke, incense, dried apricot and wild flowers meld together in a powerful, structured wine endowed with considerable depth. This is the first wine that shows Gravner's move to very late harvests. A rich, enveloping wine, the 2006 will challenge readers' perceptions about what white wine is and what wine can be. A plush, explosive finish rounds things out. The 2006 spent a total of five years in cask.
About the producer
Along with the likes of Radikon, Joško Gravner – whose vines straddle the Italian-Slovenian border – is a leading light of the natural-wine movement. His skin-contact Ribolla Gialla has inspired many imitators, while the rare Pignolo is prized by those in the know.