Domin & Kušický – Chardonnay Bio 2022 Veľký Krtíš, Slovakia | White
This comes from Katovka, the oldest vineyard in Domin & Kušický's portfolio — and a genuine piece of Slovak wine history. Since 1998 it's carried the Organic Certified designation, the first vineyard in Slovakia to do so. Sitting at 330 metres above sea level, it's cool-climate by altitude rather than latitude, and that shows in everything the wine does.
100% Chardonnay, hand-harvested into 20kg crates at 21.5°NM sugar. Destemmed, given a brief 2–3 hours of skin contact, then pressed. Fermentation ran on a yeast strain selected from the estate's own vineyard, after which the wine was racked into a 7,500-litre stainless steel tank for an extended 22 months of ageing — slow and patient, letting the site speak rather than rushing it to bottle. Bottled in July 2024 with light plate filtration and a small addition of sulphur.
The result is taut and high-acid, with the freshness you'd expect from that altitude and the genius loci of an old, established site — yet it stays harmonious rather than austere. There's real structure here, and real potential to keep developing in bottle.
10,000 bottles made.
Drink it with: roast chicken, grilled scallops, soft cow's milk cheeses, or a simple plate of pasta with brown butter and sage.
ABV: 12.5%