Bianco Trebež

Dario Prinčič's Trebež is a single-vineyard cuvée from a parcel in Oslavia (Collio, Friuli) co-planted to Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio. The three varieties grow together but are vinified separately and assembled afterwards - a single-vineyard blend rather than a true co-fermented field blend.

Vines around 35 years old on marl and sandstone (ponca). Vinification follows the Oslavia pattern, with maceration length varying by variety: roughly 5-8 days for the Pinot Grigio and 15-27 days for the Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, depending on vintage. Each variety in open wooden vats with indigenous yeasts; the lots are then assembled. Long élevage in old/used oak (including French barriques): sources cite anywhere from 20 months to ~3.5 years before bottling, with one importer reporting around 42 months specifically for the 2020. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, with no added SO2 - the strictest end of Prinčič's already low-intervention protocol.

2020 in Collio was a year of contrasts: a warm, dry start, then unusually rainy May-July with cooler-than-average temperatures (reportedly the wettest May since 1973 in the area). Modest yields, with whites generally considered solid - though not on the level of the celebrated 2021.