Gasper Cabernet Franc 2022

Gasper Cabernet Franc

Region: Goriška Brda, Slovenia

Vintage: 2022

Bottle size: 75cl

Grape: Cabernet Franc

ABV: 12.5%

This wine has a rich and aromatic nose with perfumed notes of cherries, plum, blackberries, and black pepper. The palate is wonderfully smooth, with great red fruit character, ripe, supple tannins, and a long, consistent finish.

The Gašper vineyards are 50 years old and characterised by ‘opoka’ marl soil and excellent sun exposure on terraced, hillside rows. There is also the benefit of altitude, ranging from 80-200 metres above sea level, which helps the grapes retain acidity and aromatics. Vines are single Guyot trained and planted at a density of 4,000 to 5,000 per hectare. All picking is done exclusively by hand by cooperative partners, family members and friends, which allows for a careful selection of fruit that enhances the quality of the final wine.

On arrival at the winery, the grapes spent eight days on skins before fermentation in 4,000-litre Slavonian oak casks at 16-20°C. The wine was then matured partly in 350-litre new French oak barrels, partly in Slovenian oak, and partly in stainless steel tanks for 18 months prior to blending and bottling.

The Gašper wine estate is a joint venture between a local co-operative and the Čarman family, who have been in the hospitality and wine industry for over 50 years. The estate is in Goriška Brda, an area within Collio that stretches into Slovenia from Friuli Venezia Giulia, in northeast Italy. The climate here is ideally suited to viticulture, with its proximity to the Adriatic Sea and the Alps providing dry, warm summers and cooling breezes during the crucial ripening period.