In 2012, Andrey Ivanov and I took a long trip through Europe to visit all the wineries we wanted to carry on our wine list at the new restaurant we were opening (Elaia & Olio in St. Louis, MO). The last leg of the trip (before returning to Alto Adige because we loved it that much) was the Italian-Slovenian border. There we met Edi Simçic, who was and still is making detail-oriented, classic wines from both traditional and international varieties from the Goriska Brda region of Slovenia (Collio Goriziano in Italian...languages change as you cross the border). 2014 was a cooler vintage that demonstrated the potential of the region's white wines. I remember one thing from the tasting eight years ago, and that was our commenting that the Chardonnay's tasted like Meursault with their balance of shapely fruit and mineral tension. What a delight to return to the wines eight years later to discover them aging beautifully.
