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Achievements and references
Santomas estate collects achievements and references every year around the world.
Wine ratings by Jeb Dunnuck (2019)
The ratings of our young wines by Robert Parker in 2016 were further confirmed by Jeb Dunnuck’s ratings in 2019. In 2016, Parker evaluated young wines from 2015; those were “rough and wild” wines, whose aging process in barriques has only just begun. Even then, Parker recognized the potential in them and rated them all with over 90 points.
In 2019, Jeb Dunnuck received wines of the same vintages than Parker did in 2016; however, these were now already finished wines that were just patiently waiting in the cellar to see the light of day. The challenge we devised for ourselves was to have two different wine critics evaluate the same wines in different development periods. Once again, we proved that we are more than capable of producing top-quality wines, as the ratings exceeded 90 points on a 100-point scale.
Jeb Dunnuck is an increasingly well-known wine critic who worked under the auspices of Robert Parker Jr. between 2013 and 2017. In 2017, however, he opted for a solo route and is considered a rising star in wine evaluation.
The Santomas wines were rated as follows:
Wine ratings by Robert Parker Jr. (2016)
A year later (2016) we once again demonstrated the expertise of Santomas winery, as we boldly sent for evaluation to Robert Parker Jr. young, yet unfinished wines. Once again, we were rewarded with ratings of over 90 points.
At a press conference in 2016, at Santomas idyllic estate in Šmarje, the then chief enologist of Santomas Tamara Glavina presented new reviews for Santomas wines by R. Parker and his team at The Wine Advocate:
“If last year [which was the first time] we sent for the evaluation wines that were already market-ready (vintage 2013 to 2009); this year we quite boldly sent to the evaluation wines in a so-called rough condition.
These are wines from the exceptional vintage 2015, which were sent for evaluation immediately after fermentation and after barely a month in the new barriques. These wines will not be market-ready for at least another 7-10 years. Additionally, we also sent one wine from year 2010, which is already bottled and could potentially go on the market.”
Despite their youth and wildness, the wines received high marks:
Antonius Refošk 2015: 90-92; suitable for drinking in 2020-2028
Grande Cuvée 2015: 91-93; suitable for drinking in 2027-2037
Antonius Cabernet Sauvignon 2015: 92-94; suitable for drinking in 2017-2037
Grande Cuvée 2010: 94; suitable for drinking in 2020-2040
The significance of the fact that R. Parker is now familiar with Santomas winery and also with the refosco variety is to be considered, as this can put Slovenia as a wine country on the global wine map.
Wine ratings by Robert Parker Jr. (2015)
In 2015, we proudly received the prestigious wine ratings by Robert Parker Jr. We consider it a testament to our exceptionally good work that all of the rated wines received more than 90 points.
Robert Parker Jr. is a world-renowned authority on wine. As early as 1978, the first issue of his famous newspaper The Wine Advocate was published. The Wine Advocate, originally published on a bimonthly basis, became so successful that it soon became a monthly magazine, having already had more than 45,000 subscribers from 35 different countries in 1998. Experts agree that The Wine Advocate has a significant impact on the shopping habits of wine consumers around the world. Robert M. Parker is also the only non-French wine critic for France L’Express magazine. Parker rates with a well-known 100-point system.
This was the first evaluation of a whole series of red wines from Slovenia, of which the lowest score was 91, and up to 94+ points. The Santomas wines were rated as follows (source: erobertparker.com):
The superior ratings by Robert Parker confirmed the great work we do in the cellar; however, we wanted to see if our other wines would prove to be just as exceptional. In 2016, spurred by ambition, we boldly sent for evaluation the wines from 2015—the uncut gems. Our ambition paid off and the ratings left no doubt as to the high-quality of wines from Santomas, a winery from a small village of Šmarje.
References
In addition to the prestigious wine ratings by renowned wine critics Robert Parker Jr. and Jeb Dunnuck, we regularly collaborate with and are awarded by Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). Our wines and olive oil have been selected already multiple times as the mayor’s wine and the mayor’s olive oil. We have also received several gold medals for our range of young wines, namely Malvazija and Refošk.
In the Slovenian Sommelier Selection of 2018, 2019 and 2020 we were awarded gold medals in the categories of young malvasia, aged malvasia, and malvasia with residual sugar (Invasia).
We are also proud of our award-winning olive oil: Ex Albis Ulivis 2016 won a gold medal in Split, Croatia, at the 14th International Olive Fair of the Mediterranean. The 2018 vintage received as many as two awards, namely it was chosen for the mayor’s olive oil, and it also received a gold award at the Golden Olive Branch Festival in Izola.
A renowned Slovenian wine expert Robert Gorjak first mentioned us in his Wine Guide in 2009, when he ranked us among the “Top 10 Slovenian winemakers”. The Antonius Refošk wine from 2015 was ranked among the 12 surprises of the year about 10 years later (2020).
Santomas wines are also well-represented around the world. In New York, you will find them in the prestigious X20 restaurants of Peter Kelly, a world-class chef. Much to our delight, he visited our winery in 2011. You can find our wines in another exceptional restaurant—The Essex House by Alain Ducasse in New York, USA.
We were offered a tremendous opportunity in 2006, as our wines were served at the most prestigious event of the season—the Academy Awards in Los Angeles. Among the famous Santomas wine lovers are former US President Bill Clinton and former US Ambassador to Slovenia Thomas Bolling Robertson.
Where can you find us?
Šmarje 10, 6274 Šmarje, Slovenska Istra, Slovenija | Tel.: +386 40 457 451 | Email: info@santomas.si
