Štajerska, Slovenia 🇸🇮
Dveri Pax
Held by the Benedictine Abbey of Admont since 1139, these vineyards in Štajerska, Slovenia produce bright, precise, and refined wines under the guidance of winemaker Danilo Flakus.
DP Brut Šipon 2020
Šipon (furmint) as a traditional-method blanc de blancs with years on the lees. Green apple, brioche, roasted hazelnut; bone dry. Aged cheese, charcuterie, školjke (shellfish), celebration.
šipon (furmint) · traditional method · extended lees aging
Benedict White 2024
Šipon (furmint) and welschriesling form the classically Styrian architecture of this steel-vinified blend, with pinot gris for body and riesling and gewürztraminer for aromatic complexity. Yellow apple, peach, dried herbs; dry with good acidity; drinkable. A good all-rounder that shines with grilled fish, goat cheese, eggs, vegetables, or simply by itself, well-chilled.
šipon · pinot gris · welschriesling · riesling · gewürztraminer · stainless steel
Renski Rizling “Pekel” 2018
This single-vineyard renski rizling ("Rhine riesling", as opposed to welschriesling) comes from Pekel, a stony site near Maribor with old vines and large temperature shifts that build both strength and acidity. Dry, lots of zip, elegant nose with notes of lemon and peach and wet stone; lovely viscous texture. Not as effortless a pairing as some younger whites but extraordinary with schnitzel, roast potatoes, and grilled scallops or squid. Ageworthy but drinking great now.
riesling · single vineyard "Pekel" · old vines
Benedict Red 2020
Blaufränkisch, pinot noir, and zweigelt in well-controlled, old oak. Moderate alcohol, fresh acidity, and a drinkable medium-body feel, with softness and fruit from the zweigelt and classic leather-musk-truffle perfume from the pinot noir to complement the archetypal blaufränkisch backbone. Cured meats, pasta, pizza, any grilled food; spectacularly versatile.
blaufränkisch · pinot noir · zweigelt · Slavonian oak & used French barriques
Modra Frankinja “Murski Vrh” 2015
Single-vineyard blaufränkisch, dry-farmed on both schist and loam, aged for two years in both new and used French oak, and bottled unfiltered. A decade on, it's peaking: black fruit, pine, pepper, dried herbs, with a hint of undergrowth; oak is noticeable but not disruptive, tannins are ripe and soft, and the characteristic Dveri Pax acidity is fully-present. Shines with mushroom pasta, comté, cabbage or chestnuts, and braised red meat; we'd also say steak, but really a grilled venison loin would be the most apposite thing we can imagine.
modra frankinja (blaufränkisch) · Murski Vrh single vineyard · unfiltered · 14% ABVAlso pouring · Plešivica, Croatia 🇭🇷
Drago Režek
The year 1876 is carved into the Režek family cellar in Plešivica, the cool green hills half an hour west of Zagreb. The name honors Drago Režek, the legendary enologist who rebuilt the family vineyards in the '90s; today his son Damir makes the wine, with mama Dragica — agronomist, keeper of the stories — alongside. The scoreboard: Plešivica's first premium wine, Croatia's first macerated Rizvanac, one bottle carried up Kilimanjaro in 1996. Small farm, big stories.
Altera 2022
Rizvanac — Müller-Thurgau — a month-plus on its skins, then rested in a big old cask: the first macerated Rizvanac Croatia ever saw on a shelf. Apricot nose, real tannin, long finish. Yes, it can handle a steak.
Rizvanac (Müller-Thurgau) · PDO Plešivica · macerated, unfiltered · 15.5% ABVSilvanac Zeleni 2025
Sylvaner, the backbone of the family's plantings. Full, firm, long, fresh — a dry white that means it. (Geneticists recently ruled Rizvanac and Silvanac aren't actually related. The Režeks grow both anyway, beautifully.)
Silvanac Zeleni (Sylvaner) · PDO Plešivica · dry · 14.5% ABVPinot Crni 2023
Pinot Noir off the cool slopes, done the house way: honest, unfiltered, alive. Bright red fruit, real freshness. Roast chicken's soulmate.
Pinot Crni (Pinot Noir) · PDO Plešivica · unfiltered · 14% ABV❦Živeli!❦