Can’t Get Enough of Kobal Wines Bajta Rosé Pét-Nat!
Even though I finally made it to Slovenia a few years ago, I barely got a taste of the wine! Despite the fact that taste wine was mostly all I did for the few days I was there! So when I had the chance to make a big wine order from the US, Slovenian wine was one of the things I looked for. Not only did I find some, I was thrilled that what I found was sparkling!
This wine had a crazy journey. From Slovenia to the US to Turkey with how many stops and what kind of conditions along the way. I felt a little trepidatious about ordering a Pét-Nat as I’ve experienced closure problems before with those crown caps. But I decided it was worth the risk; and boy howdy was it ever!
Kobal Wines
Kobal Wines is a small winery from the northeast Slovenia, near the Austrian border. So near, in fact, that they share a region? Kobal Wines’ vineyards are in the Slovenian Styria region. The winery sits near the town of Ptuj in the Haloze sub-wine region. They specialize in white wines, producing Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Furmint, Yellow Muscat, Traminer, Chardonnay, and Welschriesling; but also Blaufränkisch. 
Their region is characterized by particularly hilly terrain with a continental climate characterized by hot summers and cold winters. The vineyards, range in age from 15 to 57 years of age, sit between 250 and 400 meters in mainly marl soils, and are farmed sustainably using environmentally friendly, integrated methods.
Kobal Wines Bajta Rosé Pét-Nat, 2021
Blaufränkisch has never held an especially high place on my list of preferred grapes. Apparently, I just needed to try a sparkling version of it! The Kobal Wines Bajta Rosé Pét-Nat is made with 100% Blaufränkisch, with extended maceration lasting one month, and fermented on wild yeasts.
It poured a deep, frothy pink releasing a bouquet of red fruit aromas of cranberry, sun-warmed raspberry, and crushed rhubarb. The palate offered all that fruit but so much more!! Candied fruits with an earthy/herbal edge. Not just raspberries but raspberry leaf combined with sticky-sweet cherries all wrapped in a thread of white pepper with a pleasant pink grapefruit bitter finish. A creamy mousse, dry finish, bright acidity, and only 12% abv…I wanted to keep drinking this forever.