The New Old World
September / October 2024
DISCOVER BENVENUTI WINERY
We are delighted to introduce you to Benvenuti Winery located in the small village of Kaldir, close to the stunning medieval hilltop town of Motovun, in the heart of Green Istria.
This month's selection comes from Benvenuti's Livio line of wines, named after Livio Benvenuti, these wines are ripe and complex wines, from exclusively good vintages - wines to be enjoyed today or held for longer term aging.
THE WINEMAKER
Wine is hard-wired in the genetic code of the Benvenuti family. The vineyards around the family home and winery in Kaldir have been there since time immemorial and brothers Albert and Nikola tend to them with as much passion as their ancestors.
A wine jug dating to the Antiquity that was found in the vineyards now rests in a museum in Trieste - an artefact that bears witness to the thousand-year continuity of wine making in this region, and serves as a daily reminder to the family of their mission – to keep the viticulture and the winemaking tradition alive and prosperous.
Albert and Nikola, following in the footsteps of their late father, Livio, have proudly assumed the role of the protectors of their region and their family’s tradition.
THE WINERY
The vineyards are the essence of the Benvenuti wine philosophy, and this is where the brothers and team spend the most of their time. They are located in some of the highest, most premium locations in Istria. They lie on sunny slopes, high above the morning fog and mist of the Mirna valley, exposed to the continuous flow of air and frequent winds – reliable allies in keeping the grapes healthy.
The soil where the vines are planted is the so called white-eye, the flysch soil with a high percentage of marl and clay. It is nutritionally poor and rather water-tight. It is the nature of the sedimentary rock layers that lends a minerality to all Benvenuti wines, and is the reason why there is no need for irrigation, even in the driest periods of the warmest years.
Central Istria’s historic grape varieties are Teran and Malvazija, along with White Muscat. Their presence dates back to the Middle Ages, which motivates the family to try to contribute to their preservation and future. Albert and Nikola leverage vinification methods which best preserve the authenticity and the characteristics of the terroir in their wines, and they embrace traditional ways of aging their wine in older and aromatically neutral oak barrels - resulting in wines that truly showcase these flagship varieties.
The Livio line is their most recent line of premium wines. It is proudly named after their father, Livio Benvenuti, who passed a few years ago. His passion and spirit live on in the fruits of this magnificent terroir.
THE WINES
This month's selection includes both wines from the Benvenuti Livio line.
We invite you to enjoy Livio Malvazija - a supremely elegant skin-contact white, along with Livio Teran - a benchmark example of Istria's flagship red, and a Decanter Gold medal winner to boot.
BENVENUTI LIVIO MALVAZIJA
JOS'S TAKE
This skin contact white (aka orange wine) is elegance personified.
A wine for quiet contemplation on a fall evening, as the temperatures start to dip. Don't be shy when it comes to pairing this wine with food. Macerated white wines carry themselves beautifully with your typical fall flavours. Enjoy!
LIVIO MALVAZIJA
Maceration along with fermentation on wild yeast in stainless steel tank for 15 days (15 to 18 °C).
Fermentation in a large 2,000 L oak barrels, and matured in the bottle for 12 months.
MALVAZIJA
100% Malvazija Istarska (or Malvasia Istriana). Istria's flagship white.
Very versatile - can be enjoyed sparkling, as a fresh white, oak aged, or macerated.
TASTING NOTES
Vibrant and deeper yellowish green colour. It has the intense and layered aroma of ripe Malvazija grapes, mixed with ripe peach and pear. In the background, there are layers of yeasty, creamy notes. The palate is intense, the freshness accentuated, with striking minerality and simultaneous creaminess. In the mouth it is luxurious and intense, with depth and stimulating acids, slightly rounded in the middle, with a long and minerally saline finish.
Potential for keeping and additional development for five to ten years from harvest.
SERVING RECOMMENDATIONS
12 - 14 ° C
PAIRING RECOMMENDATIONS
This macerated wine can carry itself well with heartier fare. Try it with roast veal, veal or mushroom risotto , pasta with truffles and similar dishes.
BENVENUTI LIVIO TERAN
JOS'S TAKE
I am a lover of high acid reds, and there are few grapes with such astringent acidity as Teran. Speak to Istria's best winemakers and they will all tell you that it is a beast to tame.
As a result, if you don't know where to look, teran wine can be, dare I say, terrible! But there are a number of producers, Benvenuti certainly being one of them, who have mastered the production of this variety.
The Decanter Gold award demonstrates both its quality and broad international appeal.
This is most certainly a wine for north Italian red lovers.
Elegant and smooth, with that all important old world earthiness.
LIVIO TERAN
Harvested by hand.
Undergoes 20 to 30 days of maceration with fermentation on wild yeast at the temperature of 23 to 27 °C in stainless steel.
Matured for 2 years: 90% in 2,500 L oak barrels and 10% in 500 L and 225 L oak barrels.
TERAN
100% Teran
Istria's flagship red.
Challenging to tame due to the grape's high acidity. In the right hands this grape produces earthy and elegant, north Italian style wines, with good ageing potential.
TASTING NOTES
Deep and opaque ruby red colour with a hint of violet. A layered aroma, of ripe cherries and prunes, mixed with juicy forest fruits and spicy notes originating from oak. The taste is equally layered, with depth, firm tannins, solid concentration, with moderate acids and with a lot of lively fruitiness on the palate. It has a solid tannic frame and a long, pleasantly spicy finish.
It is a teran of a more elegant type, medium to full bodied, a great balance between freshness and warmth, a more complex character, a very long duration and with the potential for additional maturation in the bottle.
"An elegant wine with ripe red fruit aromatics. The palate is juicy and well structured with plenty of tannins and integrated sweet oak.
An engaging wine with lots going on and a long, smooth finish."
DWWA Gold Medal (96 pts)
SERVING RECOMMENDATIONS
16 - 18 ° C. Decant prior to consumption.
PAIRING RECOMMENDATIONS
An ideal partner for roasted red meats, game meats and rich meat dishes such as ossobuco.