Radovan Šuman

Photo from A&C’s World Bike Tour.

Text from importer Josh Eubank of Percy Selections:

I recently re-read Kermit Lynch's seminal book, Adventures on the Wine Route, which recounts the young importer's search for great winemakers in pre-internet France. Published three decades ago and set in the early 1980s, Kermit's book is largely responsible for the romance surrounding the wine importing trade. I sometimes wonder, though, if importers can really take credit for much anymore. One might imagine a wine importer driving down a dirt road in rural France only to stumble upon the next Thierry Allemand, practically begging to sell you a few pallets. But in reality most "discoveries" these days occur in the 11th arrondissement of Paris or at a wine fair attended by 5,000 tasters. And the trade overall has most definitely become more about paying bills on time than practicing ethnography. But every once in a while, you get lucky enough to do some real field work. About a year ago, I was sitting at my desk doing some kind of bullshit data entry when a friend called me with an exciting tip about an isolated Slovenian winemaker called Radovan Šuman. I dug around on the web and found nothing, a good sign I figured. I booked a plane ticket the next day, knowing almost nothing about him or his domaine.

Radovan Šuman was born in Slovenian Styria, in the foothills of the Southern Alps, when it still belonged to Yugoslavia. His father, also a winemaker, fell ill when Radovan was about 14 years old, leaving him in de facto control of the 300-year old winery and its 4 hectares of vines. Those difficult early years were essential for Rado's self-teaching, having no point of reference other than his own intuition. In his spare time, he dedicated himself to the study of two of Yugoslavia's most popular national pastimes, wrestling and quantum physics. The former, he says, taught him important lessons about his own humanity, and the latter, importantly, led him to the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of biodynamic agriculture, which Rado has practiced avidly for the last two decades.

Though he didn't think of his wines as natural wines, Šuman has never used additives in his winemaking since he started making wine at age 14. Instead, he relies on extended maceration and long élevage in old oak, chestnut, and cherry foudres to gain stability and age-worthiness. Racking is left to a minimum and wines are seldom topped up. Radovan's approach to viticulture is even more radical. A few years back, he renounced the use of sulfur and copper sprays and stopped ploughing entirely. Though his yields are somewhat lower, he believes that his soils have never been healthier and that the energy transferred to the wines, and ultimately to those who consume them, is an unquantifiable good —what fellow Slovenian, Slavoj Žižek, might call a “quantum good.”

Moon Drops 2018 $37 - Riesling with a short skin maceration. Very savory, gingery, assertive.

Sun Drops 2018 $57 - Traminer, Sauvignon, and Riesling fermented on skins and stems for a couple weeks. Orange wine with a strong backbone of bitter herbs.

Renski Rizling 2018 $69 - An absolutely gorgeous and unusual Riesling only made in years where the quality is supreme. Springtime flowers, beeswax, citronella, pine resin, and on and on...