Gardelin 2019 Klinec

Gardelin is Klinec's Pinot Grigio — and like everything that comes out of Medana, it has nothing in common with the conventional versions of this grape variety. Pinot Grigio has naturally copper-grey skins loaded with pigments and polyphenols: just macerate it on the skins to obtain an intense copper color and a structure that white Pinot Grigio will never achieve. Aleks Klinec works it with the same rigor as Malvazija: hand-harvesting, spontaneous maceration in concrete, then 36 months in wooden barrels in contact with its own lees. A long aging process that builds tertiary depth, softens the tannin extracted from maceration, and allows the minerality of the ponca to emerge cleanly at the finish. No filtration, no fining. Gardelin is an intense and textural orange wine — one of those that requires time in the glass before fully opening up.