Rojac Refosk Istra Slovenia 2022

Rojac is located in Slovenia’s Istria region, not far from the Italian city of Trieste and overlooking stunning views of the Adriatic. It’s the sunniest, warmest wine region in Slovenia, but with a lot of cooling winds to temper the heat. As such, Istria has a long history of grape cultivation. The Rojac clan, like the Zaro family also featured in March’s Direct Press, has been in this area for centuries. The current generation is the third to be focused on winemaking, and they have 15.5 hectares of vines and 2 hectares of olive trees. They were one of the first in Istria to embrace ecologically-conscious farming methods.

Their Refošk sees 15 days of maceration in open vats and a year in oak, then rests in steel tank for another year. The name Refošk comes from the Latin rex fuscis or “dark king,” which is a fitting name for this authoritative, black grape. The Rojac expression of Refošk is always one of my favorites. There is an unexpected mix of dark and light in this wine, almost like a Led Zeppelin album where heavy stomping power riffs are followed by elvish, pastoral acoustic numbers. Dark, feral animal aromas, briny anchovy, and earthy forest floor notes are matched with sour cherry, cranberry and tangy municipal water fountain metals. The tannins are crunchy, the acid is mouth watering. A wine that is not afraid to be itself, it passes on its quirky edge and medicinal tonic qualities to all of us. Pair with pizza, goulash with polenta, tagliatelle with mushrooms in brown butter, or braised meats. Kate Masters