Kabaj San Lurinz 'Corvus' Sparkling Wine Goriška Brda 2019

On the northeastern Italian border, at the foothills of the Alps and 15 miles from the Adriatic sits the Goriška Brda region of Slovenia (‘Collio’ in Italian). Unfortunately, when Slovenia became part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the late 1940s, wine production suffered from the state-run “quantity over quality” approach. Upon gaining independence in 1991, private production resumed, indigenous grapes were replanted, and focus on terroir has intensified. In the late 1980s, Katja Kabaj married former French Legionnaire and Bordeaux-trained enologist Jean Michel Morel, and they settled in Katja’s family village of Šlovrenc. After they were married, they made the decision to bottle their own wines from their 15 ha of vines rather than sell their grapes - a great choice given that they are now regularly hailed as one of Wine & Spirits Top 100 Wineries of The Year. Their pinot noir rosé pét-nat delivers tons of freshness, fruitiness, and earthiness in balance. It sees a few days of skin contact before fermentation and is bottled unfined and unfiltered, with no SO2 added. Apple flavors and minerality lead to a long, crisp finish. Organically grown, low-intervention/natural wine, vegan.