Kobal “Old Vine Selections”

haloze hills, slovenia  |  2018

Surprise, surprise. Another wine selection that few people have heard of!

You all may be seeing a trend I like to follow with my selections, and a small-production dry Furmint from Slovenia hits the nail directly on the head.

Furmint is more commonly recognized as a Hungarian varietal that goes into the recipe blend for the beautifully botrytized dessert wines known as Tokaj Aszù, but this wine is neither sweet nor Hungarian nor a blend, so obviously it intrigued me. Curveball wines are my jam.

When I tried this Furmint I was not quite sure what to expect as I admittedly have not been exposed to many Slovenian wines, but I was really taken with this one. Bojan Kobal is the winemaker and only recently left another larger winery in Slovenia to make his own small-production estate wines that bear his family name. Bojan’s style is clean, honest, and terroir-driven using no herbacides or pesticides and using very little SO2 before bottling.

Coming from the ancient Haloze Hills and averaging 35 years in age, the vines of this estate are all considered “old vines” which contribute to the body’s layers and complexity, but this Furmint also sees 24 hours of extended skin contact giving it even more character and richness. Only 500 cases were made and very little was exported!

Herbaceous and floral with a blast of tropical fruits, citrus, and saline, this wine is a shoe-in for any kind of fish course or pasta dish with a white wine sauce. This wine is drinking at its peak so no need to cellar! Open and enjoy!