Rebula – a borderline case
“Rebula can deliver world-class wines in all its styles - a grape that deserves to be more widely known and enjoyed.” Caroline Gilby MW
There are local grapes, and local grapes. A few went global and others stayed put. In some cases, the best they can do is good for that grape. In other cases, politics, wars, or pests and diseases meant they got overlooked in spite of serious quality credibility. High on this shortlist is Slovenia’s Rebula (aka Ribolla Gialla in Italy). It’s been grown in the hilly cross-border landscape of Brda and Collio since the 13th century and shares a parent in Heunisch Weiss with famous grapes like Chardonnay, Riesling and Furmint. It’s been renowned for centuries, favoured by royalty and used in lieu of money to settle bills. This huge cultural wealth nearly disappeared in Italy with the arrival of international grapes after Phylloxera but luckily hung on in the Brda/Collio region where it suits the dramatic steep slopes and complex marl and sandstone ‘opoka’ soils.
Rebula is one of the most versatile
grapes of all, though sadly Brda Home of Rebula (the conference that showcases this) was cancelled in 2020. Its faces range from complex, refreshing and elegant sparklers thanks to its high natural acidity; to refreshing, vivid and pristine classic wines (usually tank-fermented) – in this form it can stand proud next to wines like Albariño or Gruner Veltliner. With a little skin contact and judicious use of oak, it can offer more sumptuous Burgundian or Rhone-like weight, with supple texture, spice and sapid richness rather than fruity notes. Rebula has thick skins and is also particularly suited to that tradition-revived of orange wines, with long skin contact in barrels, concrete or even amfora giving red-wine-like structure and ability to match food with incredible depth and savoury, saline complexity. To complete the picture, a few producers even make super sweet Rebula from dried grapes, balanced by its hallmark freshness.
Rebula’s history gives authenticity, but it also has originality in its very specific links to the gorgeously beautiful Brda/Collio hills and the sense of place this brings – it can’t be compared to any other region but judged only for what it delivers in a glass. A raft of medals at competitions like Decanter World Wine Awards shows clearly that Rebula can deliver world-class wines in all its styles - a grape that deserves to be more widely known and enjoyed.