Veltlin, Strekov 1075 2018

Flor aged Gruner! Flor is a rare form of indigenous yeast which only exists in a few very specific parts of the world. Sherry is most famous for it, where it characterises its fino and manzanilla styles. Porous barrels allow the wine to evaporate as it ages. Usually, the barrels would be topped up to stop oxidation but instead, they allow the wine to reduce which gives space for Flor yeast to form a protective veil on top of the liquid. The flor imparts a very distinct nutty or slightly herbal character on the wine.
After the bunches were de-stemmed and pressed, the juice was spontaneously fermenting in 300l Zemplén oak barrels. For the next 6 – 8 months the wine was ageing under flor without the barrels being topped up. It was bottled unfined, unfiltered with no addition of SO2.
2018 bit more rounder fruit profile then 2017 given the amount of sunny hours throughout the ripening season with a long lingering finish
Zsolt Sütő started to work on 12 hectares of land near the village of Strekov in Slovakia in 2002. 7 years later he converted his plots to sustainable farming. The region’s microclimate ensures a long optimal ripening season, as the temperature is moderated by the Danube river. The top layer of soil consists of clay-loam, which lies above the marine sediments, sandstone and limestone veins.
Zsolt cultivates his vines by hand and trains them mainly as bush vines in order to force their roots to go deeper, making them less sensitive to drought. This also allows him to naturally keep the yield extremely low at 25hl/ha.
In the cellar the wines ferment spontaneously in barrels and open vat fermenters without any intervention. Zsolt prefers to keep the wines on their lees and to avoid the use of sulphur as much as possible.