Bordon Wines
Dekani, Slovenia (Istria)
In 1985 — when Slovenia was still Yugoslavia and private enterprise was, shall we say, a delicate art — Ivan Bordon became the first winemaker in Slovenian Istria to put his own family name on a bottle, one of the very first private wine brands in the country. That stubborn streak of independence has run through the estate ever since.
The farm sits in Dekani, in the Rižana river valley just inland from Koper, where Istria's terra rossa hills catch the Adriatic sun. Today Ivan's grandson Jan — the fifth generation — farm twelve hectares of vines and nearly three of olives, all certified organic. The old family mill still stands on the property, and guests are fed the full Istrian treatment: house olive oil, home-cured delicacies, and everything in the cellar.
The Bordon family has a love affair with Refošk — it's still the grape of the house. It shows up in every guise they can dream up: fresh and dark-fruited in the classic bottling, sparkling as a rosé penina, and at the top as Ivanov Refošk, the long-aged flagship named for the founder. Then there's Bon d'Or, the family's answer to the Bordeaux blend: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc given an Istrian accent with a dose of Refošk, macerated two weeks and raised three years in barrique — just 1,800 bottles of plums, black pepper, and proof that Istria's reds run deep.
IMPORTED SELECTIONS
Amber Muškat
Bon D'or
Refošk