Since 1988, in Collio Goriziano, land marked by a fratricidal war during the Second World War, there is the winery of Damijan Podversic, with its vineyards, located on the top of Monte Calvario, protected by a thick bush. Damijan’s vocation for viticulture was inherited by his grandfather, who cultivated lands not owned by selling wine for a handful of air, and by his father, from whom he inherited just half a hectare. Only with many sacrifices and determination did Podversic, assisted by his wife Elena and her three children, manage to expand the extension of vineyards, reaching about 10.5 hectares.
In order to vinify these grapes in the best possible way, the construction works of the new cellar are about to be completed, almost entirely buried to guarantee a cooler ambient temperature, thanks also to the sandstone marl (ponka) left exposed, based on the principle of winemaking by gravity. Here will be hosted the grapes, fruit of a viticulture of natural imprint, even if Damijan himself admits that “wine in nature does not exist; to obtain it, it is necessary to carry out two technical activities: harvesting and crushing, after which the fermentations start. The most important work must be done in the vineyard”.
The starting point is therefore the grape, which is harvested manually at full maturity (and even beyond) and sent in small wooden boxes to the cellar. As soon as it arrives it faces the process of vinification in wood, scrupulously following the lunar phases, with a period of maceration on the skins of about 3 months (from when the first spontaneous tumultuous fermentation starts until the end of the malolactic fermentation) and a period of aging in large wood. The Rosso Prelit wine, for instance, is a blend of Merlot (70%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (30%) from two vineyards, Monte Calvario and Piedimonte, planted respectively in 1994 and 1967, between 110 and 140 meters above sea level. For its production, fermentation and maceration take place in conical vats and are followed by an aging of 3 years in barrels of 20 or 30 hl, and for one in the bottle.
The 2016 vintage has an intense ruby color with garnet streaks, and an olfactory range that opens with notes of cooked plum, blackberry, tomato concentrate and vinyl, followed by black cherry jam, eucalyptus, pepper and licorice root, with slightly oxidized and boisée echoes. The palate alternates the glyceric softness with the oxidative acidity and the balsamic freshness, embellished by a light and delicate tannin; all this combined with the return of red fruit and spice that accompany the sip to an excellent length finish.
Rating: 89/100
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