Radikon Jakot 2007

Ratings

February 14, 2023

This Tocai Friulano is relatively crazy and bright (mind the respectable age). I guess this is what many people imagine when they talk about orange wines. Maybe I am tired of this style, but at least Jakot is so well made that I am ready to drink it every day. One more study case of VA adding complexity. Soaked apples? Don't mind. Pickles soaked in kombucha? No one is ideal. This wine has lots of fruits combined with honey and tea. Juicy and vivid. Glou glou.

February 7, 2023

It's hard to keep up in such a challenging lineup, and IMO, Jakot manages. It's not as complex as Ribolla (both of them, actually), but it's still a great wine. Fresh bouquet of slightly spoiled citrus (mix of pomelo with grapefruit), VA, field flowers (mostly fresh), toffee and buckwheat honey. A good amount of funkiness, just to spice things up a little bit. Fresh and juicy with a long aftertaste.

About Producer

Stanko Radikon is a legendary farmer and winemaker from a legendary region. He and his friends (Gravner) started period of renaissance for amber wines - white wines with extended skin maceration. But of course, in town of Oslavia it was called "Slovenian" or "Friuli" style - hand-harvesting, skin contact, large and older barrel fermentation without any temperature control, no added yeasts or enzymes, and little to no use of sulfur.

The vineyards were originally planted in the beginning of XX century by Stanko’s grandfather Franz Mikulus with the local favorite, the Ribolla Gialla grape. And basically, Stanko went back to the ways his grandfather was producing wines back in 30s.

After Stanko passing away in 2016, his son Saša took the winery in his hands. Though people say that nothing has really changed in the philosophy of Radikon winery as Saša has been helping out since he was a kid and a partner since 2006.

Farming

In the vineyard, the vines are planted extremely tight (between 6. 500 to 10,000 plants per hectare). We do not use any chemicals or synthetics and the treatments using absolutely innocuous, non-harmful products are minimized. Through careful pruning and selection at the time of harvest, the hand harvested yields are kept well below 2.25 tons per acre.

Stanko

The family was able to acquire more land and now works 17 hectares of vines with the following breakdown:

• Pinot Grigio: 3 hectares of 30 years old vines
• Chardonnay: 2.5 hectares of 30 years old vines.
• Sauvignon Blanc: 2 hectares of 30 years old vines.
• Ribolla Gialla: 2 hectares of 30 years old vines.
• Tocai Friulano: 1.5 hectares of 30 years old vines.
• Merlot: 1.5 hectares of 25 year old vines.
• Pignolo: about half an hectare of 25 year old vines.

The vine ages are an average, with many much older.

Wine making

In the cellar, the grapes are de-stemmed and then macerated on the skins for 30 days more, with experimentation of 6/7 months for the whites, and 35 days for the reds. The pressing is done softly using a pneumatic press. All phases of the vinifications are in Slavonian oak barrels, first in wood vats and then in large barrels in which the wines are aged for about three years before bottling. The vinifications are done using only the natural yeasts present on the grapes. There is no sulfur added at vinification or bottling.

Stanko

Саша Радікон відділяє ягоди від гребнів перед тим, як помістити їх у великий відкритий ферментер конічної форми зі славонського дуба. Бродіння розпочинається природним шляхом, і Радікон перемішує шапку (суцільну масу зі шкірок, яка піднімається на поверхню) приблизно чотири рази на день. Протягом цього періоду ферментер залишається відкритим, вивільняючи діоксид вуглецю, який утворюється в процесі бродіння. Завдяки вуглекислому газу немає такої проблеми, як окислення.

Щойно зброджування добігає кінця, ферментер запечатують і герметизують. Його також заповнюють по вінця, щоб у чані не залишилося місця для кисню.

Вино лишається зі своїми шкірками ще на три місцяі, перш ніж його врешті-решт переливають у великі дубові ботті. Там воно зберігається орієнтовно чотири роки до розливу. Радікно не додає сірки до вина на жодній зі стадій, а також не вдається до фільтрації та полірування.

Відтак вино витрмують у пляшках ще принаймі два роки перед випуском на ринок.

Amber Revolution

Unique bottle size

Stanko Radikon and Edi Kante were not happy about bottles of regular 0.75l volume. It's not enough for two people and too much for one person. That's why they designed bottles and corks of alternative size - 0.5l and 1.0l with corks that imitate wine to oxygen proportion of magnum bottles. First release that saw new bottles is 2002. Edi Kante likes to joke that 1.0l bottle is ideal for two people when only one is drinking.

У 2002 році Станко Радікон та Еді Канте розробили пляшки й корки альтернативного розміру, адже були невдоволені тим, що традиційна посудина об`ємом 0.75 л завелика для однієї людини і водночас замала для двох осіб, котрі хочуть випити вина під час вечері. Вина Радікона преміум-класу зараз розливають у пляшки ємністю 500 мл та 1 л зі спеціальними корками, які наслідують пропорції скла/корків і співвідношення традиційних пляшок магнум. Еді Канте любить жартувати, що одна літрова пляшка "ідеально підходить для двох людей, якщо п`є лише один із них!"

Amber Revolution

Wine ranges

There are basically 3 ranges of wines made by Radikon:

• Blue label. Original wines produced by Stanko. The only wine that has changed a little is Oslavje blend, which doesn't include Pinot Grigio anymore and consists of 50/50 blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.
• S range or Saša wines. Launched in early 2010's by Saša to branch out a bit on his own and to produce entry level wines. They see a noticeably shorter maceration, 8 to 14 days versus 3 months. They are also ferment and age in smaller vessels and age for only 18 months before bottling. And yes, they are bottled in traditional 750ml bottles.
• Selections. Wines that don't fall into previous ranges - 2 reds and one white.