Edi Simcic farms a handful of hectares in Goriska Brda, the Slovenian hills that run into Friuli across the border, and this is Sauvignonasse from those slopes. The grape is better known as Friulano on the Italian side, and it is the white the two countries share.
- Sauvignonasse, the grape of the Goriska Brda hills.
- Goriska Brda, Slovenia, on the Italian border.
- 2021, a warm, generous vintage in the region.
- Dry, medium body, high acidity, low tannin.
- 13.5% ABV, 750ml.
How it is made
Goriska Brda is a hilly strip of marl and sandstone, cooled by air off the Alps and warmed by the Adriatic a short drive south. Sauvignonasse is picked there with the skins kept close, which is where the deeper colour and the grip come from. It is a white that behaves a little like a light red.
How it tastes
Deep yellow in the glass. White peach and citrus up front, then flint and a wet-stone minerality that sits under the fruit. There is a herbal edge and enough acidity to keep the whole thing taut rather than soft. The finish is long and dry.
Good to know
Sauvignonasse travelled widely under other names. It is Friulano in Italy, and it was once the grape much of Chile planted as Sauvignon Blanc, a mix-up that took decades to sort out. In Goriska Brda it never went anywhere. It stayed, and the hills kept it.
