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Vintages
Born into a winemaking family from just outside Ormož, Jože went on to gain further experience and a deeper insight, by working at a large estate in Maribor. He soon developed a refined taste for quality which he was able to put into practice. But not only were his winemaking skills put to the test, Jože also showed remarkable organisational skills in the area of cellar and vineyard management – the perfect combination to create supreme wines. With this knowledge and expertise, he joined our company as head cellar man, responsible for the entire winemaking process.
Still famous for his vision and leadership, Martin Puklavec has always been a part of the company. Growing up and working in the vineyards as a young boy, Martin developed a passion for wine. After studying agriculture in Ljubljana, he entered the company in 1934. For many years he was the manager of the cellar in Ormož were he put new, innovating ideas into practice. Numerous changes and investments were made, which resulted in the increase in quality of the wine and the exporting of the wine abroad. But in the end it was his vision - making the best possible wine collectively - that inspired people in the whole region.
Weather conditions in 1959 were almost perfect. This resulted in an excellent vintage, with wines that were extremely rich in extracts. Back in those days, most of the work was conducted manually in the vineyards. Even the bottling of the wine was carried out by hand, a delicate and time-consuming task.
In the early years, the refinement of wine in cellars was conducted by cellar men alone, rather than by oenologists. After enjoying the expertise of Jože Šnajder, the company was on the hunt for a worthy successor. Ivan Cvetko continued the tradition with the same utmost professionalism until his departure in 1967. Originating from Ptuj, a small town near Ormož, Ivan grew up in the area. He was an exceptional wine taster and wine assessor.
Still famous for his vision and leadership, Martin Puklavec has always been a part of the company. Growing up and working in the vineyards as a young boy, Martin developed a passion for wine. After studying agriculture in Ljubljana, he entered the company in 1934. For many years he was the manager of the cellar in Ormož were he put new, innovating ideas into practice. Numerous changes and investments were made, which resulted in the increase in quality of the wine and the exporting of the wine abroad. But in the end it was his vision - making the best possible wine collectively - that inspired people in the whole region.
Not only due to the new bottling line, but also because of the favourable weather conditions, 1963 presented the company with an excellent vintage. It came about as a result of the harmony between acids and sugar, a combination that caused the majority of the wines to perfectly lend themselves to ageing. An excellent example of this is the Sauvignon Blanc, a wine so complex that it constantly receives high praise from those in the know.
In terms of quantity, the vintage of 1964 was particularly fine. This, in despite of the destructive rains throughout harvest time. They were so persistent that harvest continued until Saint Martin’s Day, the 11th of November. The entire process proved to be incredibly difficult, especially with the grapes still being transported by horses. As a result, only excellent wine producing areas, such as the Svetinje vineyards and Vinski vrh, created wines of real note.
The finest results of 1965 were achieved by the Sauvignon Blanc from the wine-growing area in Vinski vrh. A very famous and widely enjoyed wine that immediately put the winery on the map. The other wines produced that year were also high in terms of quality, but came nowhere near the legendary ’65 Sauvignon!
After graduating, Matija’s initial involvement at the company was as a technician. He was responsible for managing the 600 hectares of vineyards, a very difficult and time-consuming task. Once the new cellar opened in 1967, he was entrusted with running it and overseeing the winemaking technology. To this day, he is an exceptional wine taster and assessor. Over the years, he has devoted his immense knowledge and experience to making quality wines. To this day, his energy and enthusiasm still inspire his winemaking colleagues.
Professor Veselič, the architect of the newly-built wine cellar in Ormož, invited Lidija to join the company as a highly educated staff member from the field of food technology. With constantly higher requirements regarding the quality of wine, there was a need not only for knowledge of winemaking, but also for knowledge of biochemical structure and the processes of maturing the wine. Working with Matija, Lidija was a remarkable wine assessor who participated in various assessment committees at home and abroad. She also held lectures for sommeliers and educated numerous wine-growers and wine-makers.
In 1968, the entire production was moved to the newly built tower cellar in Ormož – a conscientious but ultimately gratifying task. The new technology enabled the wine to flow into the newly installed automatic bottling line, solely by gravity. As the wine was not depleted or tainted by pumps, this method lent the wine a highly distinctive quality.
With the arrival of two Bachelors of Science as in-house winemakers, the quality of the wine began to attract even more attention. Together, they brought an academic approach to the process, a factor that helped to elevate the already high quality of the wine even further. This year also saw the first production of sparkling wine.
1969 was a year of even more innovations in the cellar. It was the year in which grape varieties were matured separately, so more experimenting in taste could be conducted. The wine was now being matured in the newly introduced wooden barrels. Some of them still exist today. An additional investment was made in completely sterile bottling. This method improved the quality of the wine even more so, providing ideal conditions for the ageing of the wine.
This was the year that the vineyard began to use selected yeasts originating from the Ormož region. The isolation was conducted by Prof. Dr. Slavica Šikovec, together with Prof. Castelli of the University of Perugia (Italy). In order to mature the wine, they used wooden barrels and concrete tanks. The wine was predominantly stored in the new cellar, where the fermentation temperature was controlled. This helped with the maturing of the wine. The two professors also began to implement the process of cold stabilisation. The vintage of 1970 was not only first-class, it also saw the first dry berry selection, like the ’70 Furmint TBA.
The most notable wine variety of 1971 was undoubtedly the White Burgundy. Autumn proved to be ideal for the largest and finest late harvest of White Burgundy ever. In 1976, in Ljubljana, this wine was rewarded the title of ‘The Champion’ at the oldest and the largest wine competition. Often referred to as ‘the liquid candy’, the ’71 Sauvignon Blanc is a wine one simply should taste!
Apart from the Sauvignon Blanc, the vintage of 1971 is actually the finest vintage of the cellar’s first decade. It was a year in which every variety was of supreme quality and, as a result of subsequent decades of maturing in the bottles, developed tertiary aromas. Today, it constitutes the largest variety of wine stored in our vintage cellar.
After the excellent harvest of 1971, it was not until 1974 that another archive wine was produced. Despite this, the 1974 Furmint Trocken Beeren Auslese, not of a classic vintage, stood out as a truly exceptional wine.
The vintage of 1976 was above average. It was the year of the first dry berry selection of Rhine Riesling. The grapes were picked from a domestic clone selection of the Riesling, which was planted in an area of the highest quality in Vinski vrh. In addition, the late harvest of White Burgundy and a dry berry selection of Furmint from Bebrovnik were also deemed to be excellent.
Vintages 1977 and 1978 were the finest for the Furmint variety. It was the first time that the company harvested the prime vineyards of Furmint. It was also a good year for the region’s dry berry selection, which was of exceptional quality. The ’78 Furmint Trocken Beeren Auslese is an excellent example.
Vintages 1977 and 1978 were the finest for the Furmint variety. It was the first time that the company harvested the prime vineyards of Furmint. It was also a good year for the region’s dry berry selection, which was of exceptional quality. The ’78 Furmint Trocken Beeren Auslese is an excellent example.
In 1979, a special area in Bebrovnik called Pečica (the oven) excelled above all others. The name derives from the sun-drenched, oven-like conditions. It’s an area that boasts the maximum hours of sunshine per year; so much so, that the soil even gives off heat during the night. We like to think of it as solar heating. The variety planted in this area is the Welschriesling.
This year, we harvested three special, late harvest wines. The Rhine Riesling, White Burgundy and Sauvignon, which originated from our finest vineyards near Kog. But it was a good year all round.
The entire vintage this year was exceptional. Just like previous years, 1981 continued the tradition of producing premium wines. The company kept the grapes on their vines for a longer period of time, resulting in a perfect dry berry selection of Furmint and a late harvest of Welschriesling from Litmerk. Special emphasis was also placed on the production of premium wines from the Sauvignon, Burgundy and Pinot Blanc varieties.
After 1971, this proved to be the most successful vintage in the history of the new wine cellar in Ormož. The company bottled the fine quality wines of this extremely good vintage and left them to age. One wine that stood out was the Rhine Riesling – both the late harvest wine and the premium wine. It was so exceptional that, in 1985, the winning ski jumping team toasted their victory with the late harvest Rhine Riesling! In fact, all the wines produced in this year were of remarkable quality. A very good vintage indeed.
Following the exceptional vintage of 1983, 1984 largely delivered a medium quality harvest. It was only the outstanding 1984 Pinot Blanc Spätlese that earned the status of an archive wine.
This was the year that we saw the introduction of the new fermentation hall, with its stainless steel tanks. The cold, controlled fermentation was transferred from concrete tanks to the new hall, which was erected next to the cellar. The construction of the new fermentation hall included wine transfer lines running beneath it. This enabled gravity to transfer the wine from the tank to the bottling line, without ‘damaging’ the wine. 1985 was not an exceptional vintage, but definitely not a bad year either.
This year’s vintage was above average. It was a year of botrytis, also known as noble rot or botrytis cinerea – a mold vital in quality winemaking. It gave all the wines a high level of extract and a great deal of late harvest character. Another essential element for quality wine is glycerol, which influences the development of botrytis even more so. The content in 1986 was especially high, resulting in rich and special wines, like the ’86 Riesling late harvest.
This was a relatively dry vintage. The proper level of humidity afforded by the microclimate in the vineyard (humid nights and morning mists), enabled the welcome growth of noble rot, which starts to develop above sugar level 70°Oe. The vintage of 1987 perfectly illustrates the importance of a ‘healthy’ microclimate. The grapes, which are slightly wind-dried, contain concentrated sugar, acid and extracts. The wines of 1987, together with those of the previous year, proved to be of exceptional quality with a distinctive character. As far as quantity and quality were concerned, the vintage of 1987 was above average.
This was also the year that the company picked Welschriesling grapes on 6th January, which is known in Slovenia as ‘Vino treh kraljev’ (Epiphany).
The perfect weather conditions of 1988 helped create the largest number of special wines. Both the White Burgundy berry selection and late harvest truly stood out.
This high quality vintage was a direct result of the bottling of late harvest Welschriesling and Pinot Blanc, which were also bottled for ageing. Back then, the wine law legislated that White Burgundy Morillon be renamed ‘Chardonnay’. In our White Burgundy vineyards, more than 90% of the vines were then renamed Chardonnay. The remaining 10% Pinot Blanc, which was known under a different name at the time, also became an official name for that particular variety of grape. From 1989 onwards, the wine received the names Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc.
The special wine of this vintage was a dry berry selection Chardonnay originating from one of our finest vineyards situated near Kog. A first-rate quality wine, it was inherently suitable for bottling and ageing.
As a result of an exceptionally cold autumn and winter, 1990 also resulted in an ice wine harvest in late November. Berries for ice wine need to be closely observed for three days, in which the average temperature must not rise above -6 to -7°C. Only then can the grapes can be picked. To prevent the ice in the grapes from melting during harvest time, the grapes are pressed in the shortest time possible – less than an hour. Making ice wine is undoubtedly a delicate but very rewarding activity.
A unique wine in the archive is the ’90 Furmint Sessionist. This wine represents the independence of Slovenia, after the 10-day War of Independence in 1991.
The vintage of 1991 was relatively mediocre. As a result of a somewhat dry autumn, the grapes failed to develop botrytis. This meant that none of the varieties produced in this year were suitable for premium quality wines.
This was also the year that saw the introduction of the new automatic bottling line. Just as the new equipment for this line arrived from Italy, the Slovenian 10-day War of Independence broke out. Because the cellar lies close to the Croatian border, where the conflict took place, while parts of the bottling line were scattered in different locations in Ormož, quite close to the barricades and the bombing. However, as things turned out, the Furmint 1990 was used to toast the declaration of Slovenia’s independence on the 25th of June! It became Slovenia’s protocol wine of independence.
1992 was a dry vintage with high temperatures. This resulted in wines with high alcohol content and grapes that were devoid of botrytis. The usual process of opting for a late harvest is to pick normally ripe grapes and leave the grapes to ripen for a longer period of time. As such, 1992 produced limited special wines that were harvested at a later date.
A truly successful year that produced wines far above average. In fact, it proved to be the third finest in the history of the new wine cellar. After 1971 and 1983, this vintage boasted a number of predicate wines.
In this year, the largest quantity of wines was filled and left to age. This meant that this particular vintage is – with its 20 different varieties in stock – the vintage best represented in our archive.
The vineyards produced a dry berry selection of Furmint, which was of extremely high quality. With a dry berry selection, only those with botrytis are picked from the grapes, without the stem. While the required sugar level is 154°Oe. This results in rich, extremely aromatic wines.
The Rhine Riesling ice wine from Vinski vrh was of particularly fine quality. This is an achievement, as the Rhine Riesling requires very specific vineyard conditions. That is, the grapes need to be protected from unfavourable weather as well as being able to receive lots of sunshine.
After graduating, Matija’s initial involvement at the company was as a technician. He was responsible for managing the 600 hectares of vineyards, a very difficult and time-consuming task. Once the new cellar opened in 1967, he was entrusted with running it and overseeing the winemaking technology. To this day, he is an exceptional wine taster and assessor. Over the years, he has devoted his immense knowledge and experience to making quality wines. To this day, his energy and enthusiasm still inspire his winemaking colleagues.
Andreja joined the company after working at a large winery in Ljubljana, named Slovenija Vino. Following in the footsteps of Lidija, Andreja’s speciality lies in the area of wine filtration – a delicate process that greatly affects the quality and the microbiological stability of the wine. Naturally, she is an excellent wine taster with an outstanding knowledge of the biochemical processes.
1994 was a particularly wet year. The grapes were left to ripe until the late autumn. As a result, it was only possible to produce premium quality and late harvest wines. However, it was an especially good year for Sauvignon, while the quality of other varieties was also very acceptable.
This proved to be a very cold year. Even in late autumn, the temperatures dropped to -10°C, which facilitated the freezing of the grapes. The exceptional conditions presented us with the opportunity to produce a high-quality Welschriesling ice wine.
The harvest of 1996 was average and resulted in different qualities of wines. Only a few bottles were suitable for ageing, but in order to preserve at least some bottles of this vintage, the company bottled a Welschriesling ice wine. This was, considering the unfavourable weather conditions, a surprisingly good wine.
The autumn and winter of 1997 were unusually warm. Winter temperatures failed to drop below -6°C. All of the grapes intended for production of ice wine were picked as a dry berry selection, which represents the highest quality level among predicate wines. The characteristics of this wine are the long-ripening of the grapes on the vine and the drying of the berries, which results in an extremely high sugar level. This type of wine is usually very sweet – the required sugar level being at least 154°Oe.
Due to the distinct lack of frost, Welschriesling and Rhine Riesling were picked as a berry selection on 6th January. A day which is known in Slovenia as ‘Vino treh kraljev’ (Epiphany).
After graduating, Matija’s initial involvement at the company was as a technician. He was responsible for managing the 600 hectares of vineyards, a very difficult and time-consuming task. Once the new cellar opened in 1967, he was entrusted with running it and overseeing the winemaking technology. To this day, he is an exceptional wine taster and assessor. Over the years, he has devoted his immense knowledge and experience to making quality wines. To this day, his energy and enthusiasm still inspire his winemaking colleagues.
The eastern part of Slovenia, the Podravje region, is famous for its excellent white wines. Within this region, the wine cellar in Ormož and the one in Ljutomer have always been the two most successful in producing quality white wines. To further improve the quality, the two cellars were united in 2009.
For a number of years, Cvetka was the winemaker in the wine cellar at Ljutomer and Ormož. She is a supreme wine taster with an excellent knowledge of the winemaking processes. Even today, she is still consulted for her expertise in the field.
The weather was extremely humid throughout the year, especially during harvest time. As if that wasn’t enough, the grapes were attacked by grey rot which inhibited the production of high quality wines. Among all the varieties, only those of the highest quality were selected. That’s why only the varieties Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Furmint were preserved and left to age.
The fine weather conditions of 1999 enabled the production of Welschriesling and Rhine Riesling ice wines. The late harvest Sauvignon and Traminer also proved to be of supreme quality.
Due to a warm and dry autumn, the selection of Ranina variety and the late harvest of Chardonnay developed a rich botrytis, which gave both wines a special quality. But in spite of the modest weather conditions during ripening, the Rhine Riesling is also very surprising. After maturing in the bottle for a longer period of time, this wine developed into a wine of great character.
This was the year in which a new brand of wine was launched – named Holermous – a brand especially designed for ageing. That’s why the Holermous wines are made from grapes grown in special areas, the finest the company has to offer. For the first time in the cellar’s history, we used a special method whereby the grapes were left to ripen for longer, resulting in higher sugar levels.
The eastern part of Slovenia, the Podravje region, is famous for its excellent white wines. Within this region, the wine cellar in Ormož and the one in Ljutomer have always been the two most successful in producing quality white wines. To further improve the quality, the two cellars were united in 2009.
For a number of years, Cvetka was the winemaker in the wine cellar at Ljutomer and Ormož. She is a supreme wine taster with an excellent knowledge of the winemaking processes. Even today, she is still consulted for her expertise in the field.
Prior to joining the company, Danilo had spent time in France, acknowledged as the leading wine producing country, where he gained first-hand experience in winemaking. Focusing in the field of refining, he learned to how improve the taste and the maturing of the wine. As a young man when he joined the company, he was open to new processes, experiments and fresh ideas. Danilo is, for instance, responsible for the introduction of the exclusive Holermous brand and the Muscat Sparkling wines.
2003 brought a particularly dry autumn, which resulted in a huge late harvest; so much so, that the cellar didn’t have the capacity to store it all! As a result, we decided to store the wine in other cellars throughout Slovenia. Each of those cellars has left a number of grape varieties of this particular vintage to age in their archive. 1993 has indeed given us several good wines, one of them the ’93 Chardonnay late harvest.
The eastern part of Slovenia, the Podravje region, is famous for its excellent white wines. Within this region, the wine cellar in Ormož and the one in Ljutomer have always been the two most successful in producing quality white wines. To further improve the quality, the two cellars were united in 2009.
For a number of years, Cvetka was the winemaker in the wine cellar at Ljutomer and Ormož. She is a supreme wine taster with an excellent knowledge of the winemaking processes. Even today, she is still consulted for her expertise in the field.
Prior to joining the company, Danilo had spent time in France, acknowledged as the leading wine producing country, where he gained first-hand experience in winemaking. Focusing in the field of refining, he learned to how improve the taste and the maturing of the wine. As a young man when he joined the company, he was open to new processes, experiments and fresh ideas. Danilo is, for instance, responsible for the introduction of the exclusive Holermous brand and the Muscat Sparkling wines.
Compared to previous years, the vintage 2006 was of medium quality. It did unexpectedly produce a very good dry berry selection and a late harvest Welschriesling.
However, there were two wines in particular that stood out this year, as a result of their superlative quality. The first was the Traminec, which won the Golden Label at the Wine Salon in Ljubljana. A victim of its own success, this wine is unfortunately already out of stock. The second was the Laški Rizling (Welschriesling) Spätlese, which also won a medal that year. Fortunately, we still retain this one in our cellar.
2006 also saw another fermentation hall built alongside the existing cellar. The new thermally isolated hall increased the capacity of the cellar and enabled us to produce wine of an even higher quality.
The eastern part of Slovenia, the Podravje region, is famous for its excellent white wines. Within this region, the wine cellar in Ormož and the one in Ljutomer have always been the two most successful in producing quality white wines. To further improve the quality, the two cellars were united in 2009.
For a number of years, Cvetka was the winemaker in the wine cellar at Ljutomer and Ormož. She is a supreme wine taster with an excellent knowledge of the winemaking processes. Even today, she is still consulted for her expertise in the field.
Janja learnt the art of winemaking from some of the top winemakers. By 2008 she was solely responsible for the winemaking process. She made her mark by introducing Pinot Rosé and producing a top archive wine. Today, Janja specialises in quality management, ensuring high standards that are synonymous with our wines.
As far as quantity was concerned, 2007 was a bounteous year. Due to the outstanding quality of various grape varieties, the company filled a large number of bottles of late harvest Chardonnay, as well as the dry berry selection and late harvest Welschriesling.
Janja learnt the art of winemaking from some of the top winemakers. By 2008 she was solely responsible for the winemaking process. She made her mark by introducing Pinot Rosé and producing a top archive wine. Today, Janja specialises in quality management, ensuring high standards that are synonymous with our wines.
2008 is remembered for its particularly unpredictable weather. With summer hailstorms, quality expectations for vintage were quite low. Fortunately, unexpected warm and dry weather in late August and early September resulted in rapid fruit maturation, meaning an increase in sugars and decrease in acidity. From mid September onwards conditions were cooler than usual, so the fruit was chilled at harvest. These unusual conditions contributed to the fruity fresh characteristics of wines from the 2008 vintage.
Also in 2008, winemaker Janja Klanjčar harvested the first Pinot Noir grapes in the cellar’s history.
As a local, Mitja has been surrounded and fascinated by wine from a very young age. Cycling around the region on a daily basis, he developed his exceptional knowledge of the local vineyards and topography.
Mitja joined the company in 2009 as chief winemaker and although still young, he had a plethora of experience, which is put into practice daily. Having studied in Ljubljana and worked at several local vineyards, Mitja left Slovenia to complete vintages in South Africa and New Zealand.
Bold and ambitious, Mitja has been responsible for establishing brands such as puklavec & friends, Gomila, Ela Hill and Royal Aminta. Under his supervision new machinery has been introduced in the vineyards and he has overseen the construction of a new fermentation hall, all of which contributes to the ever-increasing quality of our wines.
Janja learnt the art of winemaking from some of the top winemakers. By 2008 she was solely responsible for the winemaking process. She made her mark by introducing Pinot Rosé and producing a top archive wine. Today, Janja specialises in quality management, ensuring high standards that are synonymous with our wines.
2009 started with a beautiful spring, which descended into two weeks of destructive rains in mid June. The poor fertilisation which resulted from this caused a 45% loss of yield. After such devastating losses, July and August offered ideal conditions right through to harvest, meaning that the fruit that survived was in optimum condition. These rich, complex wines have a slightly higher alcohol content and lower intensity of flavour.
In 2009 the winery also built a new intake building for the delivery of harvested fruit.
As a local, Mitja has been surrounded and fascinated by wine from a very young age. Cycling around the region on a daily basis, he developed his exceptional knowledge of the local vineyards and topography.
Mitja joined the company in 2009 as chief winemaker and although still young, he had a plethora of experience, which is put into practice daily. Having studied in Ljubljana and worked at several local vineyards, Mitja left Slovenia to complete vintages in South Africa and New Zealand.
Bold and ambitious, Mitja has been responsible for establishing brands such as puklavec & friends, Gomila, Ela Hill and Royal Aminta. Under his supervision new machinery has been introduced in the vineyards and he has overseen the construction of a new fermentation hall, all of which contributes to the ever-increasing quality of our wines.
Having studied in Ljubjana alongside chief winemaker Mitja Herga, Rok is a fellow winemaker and good friend. Raised in Southern Slovenia, he gained experience in several vineyards across the country and was working in a boutique winery on the Slovenian coast when he was asked to join the company in 2009.
Rok specialises in red and sparkling wine production and brings passion and an open mind to his winemaking. In order to achieve quality and optimum taste, he relies on experimentation, which has most recently resulted in our new product Joobles.
After an unusually long winter, where snowfall lasted up to mid March, conditions were optimal until mid August through flowering. However bad weather, including 500mm of rain, during ripening and harvest resulted in a bout of rot, which consequently resulted in 40% loss of fruit. Despite the unfavourable weather 2010 vintage produced fresh aromatic wines that are typical of our region.
Also the construction of a state-of-the-art bottling line in 2010 ensures the winery is at the cutting edge of bottling technology both within Europe and globally.
And the story continues till this day