RADIKON 2017 O...(Oslavje) 500ml

2017 was a low yielding vintage. This means that fruit is tasting more concentrated than ever, if you could possibly believe that. 'Oslavje' is made up of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The grapes are de-stemmed and then macerated with skins where they sit for about a period of 3 months. This gives the wine its intense profile, we would be remiss to describe it to you, like ruining the end of a good film. The wine is racked in oak barrels for about 3 or so years and then transferred to the b...Read More...

2017 was a low yielding vintage. This means that fruit is tasting more concentrated than ever, if you could possibly believe that. 'Oslavje' is made up of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The grapes are de-stemmed and then macerated with skins where they sit for about a period of 3 months. This gives the wine its intense profile, we would be remiss to describe it to you, like ruining the end of a good film. The wine is racked in oak barrels for about 3 or so years and then transferred to the bottle for further ageing.

Stanislao Radikon passed away in 2016. He was just 62, and though most casual wine consumers may never have heard of him, he is a key figure in the most recent decades of natural wine history. To most, these wines epitomise a level of beauty and truth sought by wine lovers every time they open a bottle. Mr. Radikon, known as Stanko, worked with his son Sasa (who now heads production as its inheritor) in and around the town of Oslavia, which is a town that touches the border of Slovenia and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The town itself exists in almost supernatural separation from the two countries, built up and burnt down through wars and occupations; the inhabitants of the land became themselves through their soil. The landscape was their history. The Radikon family, alongside Josko Gravner, Movia and a smattering of others, began their winemaking journey using more modern processes. However, travelling to the cradle of wine - Georgia for one - they learnt that they could take some ancient techniques home with them and thus have denied any modernity by eschewing mechanisation, pesticides or chemical intervention in the winery and fields. A return to the heritage varieties too, in particular Ribolla Gialla. Local woods instead of more traditional oak.They wanted to reflect the connection they felt to their land, one that told many stories. The wines are the true example of endless experimentation and introspection, showing that to make true natural wine, you have to learn from your mistakes, and be committed to going slow. It is not enough to just farm well, the wines have to reflect your hard work - through purity and complexity. If you want an example of zero-zero wine making and how it can reflect in aged wines that have had extended skin maceration - Radikon is your elixir. 

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