When life seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? 
- Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

These are wines that come from the vineyards and cellar of Kabaj. Outside of the standard production. Experimental or unintended. Resonant with us, and we trust you.

The Rider:

Claret a'la Brda. There are conventions that even The rough barrels from the 2011 and 2012 harvests from Kabaj's small holdings of old vine Merlot, Cab and Cab Franc. Proprietor Katja Kabaj was unaware the wine existed until her husband Jean Michel brought it up from the cellar.  "It is good but different” she exclaimed, “I don't recognize it, what is it?", "An experiment! Jean Michel replied, “It's been in barrel for 9 years!" Bottled August of 2020. Dense, perfumed, impossibly suave a Grand Cru unknown.  Highest elevation red grapes planted in Brda. Soils of Marl and Flysch. Barrel cuvee of 2011 and 2012 vintage, 9 years in french barrique Bottled 2020


From the winemaker:
Wine is not fashion avenue, it is part of the life of a winemaker and at the same time part of culture. However you work, you need to know your work and materials first. You need to know how the material is made, what it is from and how it will impact your product. Otherwise you cannot get any good out of it. It is like cooking: you can not cook a good dish without knowing the ingredients first and how to use them. We do not put wine inside the wood barrel to get it a wooden taste but to enrich wine with healthy tannins that extend the lifespan of wine. We must be aware that tannins in the wood increase for some time, after that at a certain point they start to fall. The key is determining when to remove the wine from the barrel. It depends on the winemaker's knowledge and feelings to decide when this is.

Ghost Rider:

This strange and wonderful libation is a collaborative attempt between Kabaj and Black Lamb to rediscover the historical fashion of Goriska Brda wines. Most prominent among the local varieties are the white Tokaj (Sauvignonasse, Green Sauvignon, Friulano) and Rebula. The wine would have been vinified in old barrels. They likely harvested when the grapes were as ripe as possible. Maceration of white grapes has historically been practiced and without refrigerant technology the wines would have been much more oxidative. Ghost Rider was macerated with the skins  6 months maceration. 3 years in mostly 500l old oak. Some old barriques as well. Bottled in 2013. No sulfur. Honey, umami, earth, apocryphal stuff.

The local white grapes of Brda have grown across the hills interplanted with the many other fruits that thrive in the region's ideal conditions for centuries or more. We know the wines were favored but we don’t know much about what they tasted like. There are stories, and old memories, but trying to make wines like they would have is probably the best information. Most prominent among the varieties are Tokaj (Sauvignonasse, Green Sauvignon, Friulano) and Rebula. The wine would have been vinified in oak barrels, possibly chestnut or acacia which are also part of the local history, almost certainly they would be old barrels. They likely harvested when the grapes were as ripe as possible 6 months maceration. 3 years in mostly 500l old oak. Some old barriques as well.

My sister Holley has lived in Goriška Brda, Slovenia for the past 6 years. She is married to Primoz Benža the chef at KABAJ and is the photographer behind the Briško Zlato, 'Golden Hills' label. This is a special bottling from the KABAJ cellar that was only made once.  The consistancy of the KABAJ wines is a result of selection and experiment. Every year there are experiments that don’t end up being bottled under the regular KABAJ labels. Sometimes these experiments are very much to our taste. Especially those long macerated aged examples. Like Briško Zlato.  The importance of Brda wine, (wine from Goriška Brda) has historically been attributed to the longevity of the wines, especially white. It is impossible to know what exactly people were drinking in the past but considering that this wine is grapes alone, aged in qvevri then wood without the addition of sulfur, and is 15 years, Briško Zlato may be similar to the oxidative wines they celebrated.  Brilliant gold in the glass, it has a perfume of cultured butter, baking spice and hot slate. It is unctuous and concentrated but not alcoholic or sweet. It is a wine that deserves to be cooked to and focused on as it will show many facets quickly due to its elegance and age.