Home » Coastal Istrian terroir, Teran & Bruno Trapan

Coastal Istrian terroir, Teran & Bruno Trapan

by Amanda Barnes

Not far from the coastal city of Pula, Bruno Trapan’s winery has an urban feel to it and a renegade attitude. Trapan shot to fame locally after his 2008 Malvasia Uroboros scored 90 Parker points, making him one to watch on the local scene. Since then Bruno Trapan continues to focus on the native Istrian Malvasia variety but has also focused on the local red grape Teran too, as well as international grapes including Syrah in particular. His red clay vineyard is a couple kilometres away from the winery and the coast, and Bruno Trapan explains how the location impacts the style of wines in this relaxed interview at his winery:



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Coastal Istria and its native wine varieties with winemaker Bruno Trapan

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Wine tasting notes: Trapan Wine Station (Bruno Trapan)

Che non Che 2014

This vintage was a tricky one for red wine, but the rainy summer meant it was perfect for sparkling wine. This Teran rose is made with champenoise method but that’s about as traditional as it gets. A zero dosage, 12 month on-the-lees bubbly, this rose has crunchy red fruit notes on the nose and real grip in the mouth – refreshing, crisp and bone dry but still aromatic.

Ponente 2016

Named after the western wind that blows warm air throughout the year, this is the young style of Malvazija Istarskafrom the winery and their main production. With a pretty nose of white orchard fruit and blossom, this is an easy-drinking Malvasia.

Uroboros 2015

This aged Istrian Malvasia spends a year in acacia and oak barrels on the lees after a 4 day maceration on the skins. The nose is expressive with citrus rind, pear, chamomile and honey notes which sit nicely with the brightness of the palate which also offers some structure and an unctous character from the lees work.

Nigra Virgo Revolution

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Teran, this red is just for the domestic market although it makes a nice weekday wine with notes of ripe blue and black forest fruits. In the mouth you can feel the freshness of the Teran, even though it only makes up 10% of the blend.

The One 2013

This is the top wine of Bruno Trapan and so far has only been made in the best years. A blend of Syrah and Teran (50/50) aged for 2 years in oak barrels, this wine has great complexity and density of fruit with a lot of peppery spice and an attractive violet note. Let this decant some time.

Nature in nature 🥂🌱 Great Monday cool down with pink Teran Brut Nature from @brunotrapan

A post shared by Amanda Barnes (@amanda_wine) on


Bruno Trapan interview clip excerpt for the hearing impaired:

Amanda Barnes: So tell me about your vineyard here – the conditions, the soil, and the climate in this area of Istria.

Bruno Trapan: In this area of Istria we are a little bit specific. During the winter we have more rain than the northern part which is a little bit more high, but during the summer we have more sun and less rain. Plus we are on the point of the peninsula so we get lots of sea breeze that throughout the years blows all the sea air in the vineyards. So, its a deep red soil but with lots of limestone. Here we have 70% of stones. In the other vineyards it is also limestone but it is more like half a meter of depth, so generally the harvest should start right now – in the first week of September. We have just a little bit of Chardonnay, that’s just to get the machines dirty and to see if everything is working, and then if we are ok we can start picking Malvasia after the 10th of September. And then if we are lucky again, the harvest should be 30 – 35 days, not picking every day but finishing with… Cabernet Sauvignon, maybe on the 5th to 10th of October.

 

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