Hedele Vipavska Dolina Malvazija Goce 2022
We have 5 in stock (Inventory is live and accurate)
The Land
Most people meet Malvasia Istriana on the Croatian coast, poured cold beside grilled fish. In Slovenia's Vipava Valley it grows an hour inland, in a valley where sea air from the Adriatic runs straight into the burja, the dry northeasterly that pours off the Karst plateau at speeds above 100 kilometers per hour. The wind dries the vines after rain and keeps rot away, which lets growers hang Malvazija longer. Hedele's vineyards sit around Goče in the upper valley, on terraces of white marl and sandstone flysch, known across the border in Friuli as ponca, dating back some 65 million years. That lean, calcareous soil is what gives Malvasia from the Vipava Valley its salty, stony finish instead of the broad, floral style the grape can fall into on richer ground.
The Wine
The Hedele Vipavska Dolina Malvazija Goče 2022 is 100 percent Malvasia Istriana, hand-picked, pressed gently and fermented in small oak vats. In past vintages it has spent about six months in barrique, enough to round the texture without masking the grape. Earlier releases have shown pale lemon with a green tint, a nose of lime, lemon, hay and fresh herbs with a light buttery note, then a dry, medium-bodied palate driven by high acidity and a long finish. Hedele's Malvazija has also held up well in bottle. 2022 was a drought year across Slovenia, with below-normal rain from autumn 2021 and repeated heat waves through summer, so expect a riper, rounder Malvazija than in cooler years, with the marl keeping the finish taut.
The People
Kmetija Hedele is what happens when a vineyard specialist gets his own land. Andrea Pittana worked as a viticulturist in Friuli alongside producer Marco Sara, and it was the soils on the Slovenian side of the border that convinced him to cross it. Since 2011 he has been assembling small parcels around Goče, a village with roughly sixty surviving stone wine cellars, and he grows only three white grapes there: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Malvasia Istriana. The vineyards are farmed organically, never irrigated and picked by hand. Bobby Stuckey MS brought Hedele to the US through Benvenusa, the import company he co-founded in 2023 for small, hand-harvesting estates in Friuli and its neighbors, which is how a farm this size reaches Colorado.
Food Pairing
Malvazija is built for the sea. Grilled sardines or mackerel with olive oil, lemon and coarse salt is the Istrian standard, and the wine's salinity and acidity cut straight through the oily fish. Fuži or any short pasta with prosciutto, peas and cream works because the acidity lifts the cream while the wine's texture matches it. Try clams steamed with garlic, parsley and a splash of the wine itself. Pršut and aged Karst cheese on a board is the local aperitivo. This is the white to keep in the fridge for nights when dinner is whatever looked good at the fish counter.
We ship wine to most states with a $100 minimum order for shipping. We don't ship spirits nor beer.
Weather shipping advisory: Orders placed during times of extreme heat or extreme cold will be held for no charge until more favorable weather returns.