Region: Goriška Brda, Slovenia

Varietal: 80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon

Tasting notes: Widely considered to be one of the best producers in Slovenia, Edi Simčič`s wines are truly unique, stoically traditional and proudly Slovenian. Three generations are still at work here, passing knowledge and experience from father to son every day. Intense nose of ripe red fruit, sour cherry, blackberry and blueberry, with gentle earthy notes of undergrowth. Dry, medium to full-bodied with good tannins for ageing, yet still fresh and lively leaving a long clear-cut finish.

Producer: When it comes to the wines of Edi and Aleks Simčič, several descriptors spring immediately to mind: unrivalled, world-class, controversial... and by all standards, unique. Multiple critics rank the estate among the very best in Eastern Europe and, as humble as they are, their name is quite well known to all the top producers in next-door Friuli. In terms of low yields, no one has higher standards than Edi Simčič. Toward that end, Aleks and his family don’t even own a sorting table. Working as a team, grandfather Edi, son Aleks, and grandson Jure make 3 passes per varietal per harvest, selecting each individual berry through sunlight.

Vineyard and Winemaking: For those unfamiliar with the area, traveling to Slovenia can be a magical experience. Goriška Brda has a dreamy, timeless quality to it: hamlets are nestled into the green hillsides rising toward the Alps, creating a gorgeous, tiered landscape. Primorska, the westernmost of Slovenia’s 3 wine regions, is the only one with a Mediterranean climate and generally leads the country in terms of both quality and reputation. Located in the SW corner, it shares a border with Italy and its name translates simply as “coastal”. The tiny Goriška Brda subzone, comprised of 45 villages and weighing in at just over 72 square kilometers, is sometimes referred to as Slovenia's "Little Tuscany". It’s a gorgeous area of rolling hills covered in forests, hilltop hamlets, and olive and fruit groves. Also, it has the highest number of awards per hectare of all the Slovenian wine districts, with cultural and enological ties to both Italy and Austria. Duet is aged 24 to 30 months in oak barrels, one-third of which are new.