Clai Sveti Jakov 2018
Type: Orange Wine
Country: Croatia
Region: Istria-Kvarner
Grape Variety: 100% Istrian Malvazija
Viticulture: Natural Wine | Biodynamic | Certified Organic
Climate: A climate where the cold from the Alps meets the Mediterranean heat
Terroir: This special single vineyard Malvazija comes from 50-year-old vines planted on a prime site on a hill to the south of the town of Buje
Winemaking: The grapes are de-stemmed, crushed, and gravity-fed with their skins into large wooden vats for spontaneous fermentation using only the naturally present local yeasts. The grapes are macerated on their skins for close to three months at 22 to 25 degrees Celsius. Pigeage, the breaking of the solid must cap, is done at least three times a day. The wine also undergoes malo-lactic fermentation. After gentle pneumatic pressing, it is aged for two years in old large (1000 and 2500 litres) oak bottle
Color: Golden yellow
Nose: Notes of acacia flowers, dried hay straw, fig and honey
Palate: The wine is slightly tannic, has a nice silky texture on the tongue, with powerful flavor and body. Exploding mouthwatering minerality improves further the balance and makes the finish moderately long, clean and delicious
About the Winery:
After a long and successful career in the restaurant industry in Trieste, Giorgio Clai, colloquially known as “the Godfather of Istrian Wine”, followed his passion and returned to his ancestral home, in Istria, to take over his family vineyard.
His vineyards are situated 10 km inland, on grey/white limestone flysch soil, and at sufficient altitude to still benefit from the cool Adriatic sea breeze. Clai’s cellar of wines have one key factor in common – the whites, just like the reds, are all skin-contact wines, otherwise known as orange wines. These wines are food wines, well balanced, rich and complex. Historically, in Istria, Slovenia and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, orange wine-making was the norm and Giorgio is resolute in his mission of sustaining and evolving this tradition.
Clai’s wines are certified organic, and winemaking techniques follow natural and biodynamic principles.
Giorgio quickly became recognized as a pioneer in orange winemaking – identified by Simon Woolf (The Amber Revolution) as an expert: “Clai’s skin-contact whites are one of the pinnacles of the ‘orange wine’ style – few European winemakers have managed to achieve this level of finesse, balance and pure drinkability.”
