2013 Bagueri Ribolla Gialla Slovenia

The nose on this wine is unctuous and powerful, filled to the brim with ripe, fleshy peaches and apricots, saline tinged honey, roasted citrus and yellow flowers. The palate is textured and full but has a wonderful lift of acidity to keep it light on its feet. This is a perfect wine for the upcoming Holiday season and would make a natural match for the rich, butter and cream laden dishes of Fall and Winter. A must try if you're looking for a unique, cold weather white.

Put Slovenia wines on your list of new wines to try. This Bagueri Ribolla Gialla is a great one to start with. In the glass it shines with a wonderful golden hue. It blooms with a bouquet of white flowers, lemon rind and gingersnaps. With an array of minerals and a surprising amount of palate weight it is a beautiful back and forth in the mouth. The wine is packed with notes of lemon, peach and chestnuts. The finish is full and lively with a gentle flavors of candied grapefruit, and vanilla. The wine will grace any table served with pan fried fish, oysters or even a lean pork loin. ​

There is a fantastically intriguing nose to this wine that manages to combine honey and saline notes seamlessly. Fresh apricot and other stone fruits shine through, while a line of minerality helps bring zippiness and energy to the wine. With medium acidity and a light body, this makes a fantastic food wine and I can certainly see why they pair it with some cream-based dishes. This will be a lovely white for Fall.

What a unique and intriguing wine! It magically combines rich exotic fruit with brisk mouthwatering acidity and finishes with crisp citrus note. At first site it appears like it might be heavy - it has such deep golden color, but then, palate surprises you with lovely bright and vivid flavors and rounded texture! I think this arrived just in time for cooler autumn days and nights that are ahead of us - when you wish for something fuller bodied but still refreshing. This wine just hits the spot.

My initial experience with the grape Ribolla Gialla came from my tastings with our Italian buyer Greg St. Clair. Early in my K&L career, he introduced me to the grape through our relationships with producers Blason and Ermacora, both great Friulian wineries. Greg was also buying a lot of the Slovenian wines at the time because in this particular part of the country, the border between Italy and Slovenia is quite porous and many producers actually own vineyards on both sides of the border. In some cases they even straddle the demarcation line. I was smitten with the grape seeking out as many examples as I could find from both Italy and Slovenia (and even Croatia). When I tasted the Bagueri, I knew I needed to bring this wine in and find what I think will be a very engaged and excited audience. The flavor profile of the grape itself is akin to Pinot Gris (the more phenolic rich kinds found in Alsace) or a full bodied Gruner Veltliner. The Bagueri is all of that and more... Densely packed with a mineral driven and lush texture, the fruit in the mouth has a wonderful roasted nectarine and grilled Meyer lemon quality. The finish is long and superbly unctuous. This is a perfect cool winter white as it would pair beautifully with heavier dishes and fall spices. Roasted squash soup or a bean stew with braised pork and a side of roasted apples sounds about right or go simple and serve it with some softer creamier aged cheeses. This is wonderfully versatile and engaging and I think you'll be as equally smitten as I was when I tasted this grape so many years ago.