Nikolas Juretic is from Cormons, a village in the Collio Goriziano in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, just next to Slovenia and about twenty minutes east of the region's famed neighbours Gravner and Radikon. He rents a small, modest cellar where he vinifies his family plots.

Before the project, Nikolas studied both art, he draws all the beautiful label artwork himself, and oenology, before gathering experience across various wineries from close to home all the way to Mornington Peninsula in Australia. Most recently he collaborated with the legendary vine pruners Simonit & Sirch, a prolific partnership that took him around the globe for the better part of a decade, teaching people how to give their vines as much longevity as possible through sensible pruning. This philosophy is reinforced by farming that draws from organic, biodynamic, and permaculture principles.

All vineyards are over fifty years old, trained in the traditional double arch Guyot. Vine density is deliberately low, between 2,500 and 3,500 vines per hectare, so the plants are allowed to grow freely through summer. The canopy is left untrimmed, leaves kept to protect the bunches from the sun, and the grass rarely cut to allow spontaneous herbs to seed and encourage biodiversity. All parcels sit close to or bordered by forest, further supporting the variety of plant and animal species present.

In the cellar, a handful of concrete vats and wooden barrels, Nikolas processes perfectly ripe grapes without destemming, fermented spontaneously and left to mature on their lees. The resulting wines are elegant, soil-driven, and complex, with a beautifully tense structure and exceptional length.

These wines are without reference point, though naturally you look to the region's greats. Radikon was my first true wine love, and there are obvious similarities given the proximity. Yet these feel different. More nuanced and, dare I say, more precise. Less in your face, more meditative, demanding contemplation. Less oxidative and powerful than Gravner too. Utterly unique and delicious wines with very bright futures ahead of them.