Vitovska 2020 Rencel

Vitovska Garganje is the emblematic grape variety of the Karst region — indigenous, extremely rare, almost extinct during the 20th century, and now undergoing a slow recovery by a few producers who believe in its uniqueness. It grows only here, on this limestone rock beaten by the bora wind, and it resembles no other European white wine. Joško Renčel cultivates it in Dutovlje on twenty-year-old vines, at 260-325 meters, on iron-rich red soil — the same soil as Malvazija, the same philosophy, the same 14-day maceration on the skins. Spontaneous fermentation, malolactic fermentation on fine lees, then 24 months in a combination of 500-liter large barrels and used barriques: a hybrid container that allows the wine to breathe without imparting too much wood. Unfiltered. Renčel's Vitovska is dense, long, elegant — a wine that brings the scent of the Karst to the bottle: citrus marmalade, dried fruit, candied citrus, Mediterranean fragrances.