UK product catalogue

Clai Ottocento Bijeli 2022

1 current tracked listing from 1 UK retailer, from £29.00.

Brand / producer	Clai
Category	Other wine
Retailer type	White
Vintage	2022
Grape	Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris
Region	Istria
Origin	Croatia
Sweetness	Dry
Container size	750ml

Price context: at £29.00, 50% of the 10,786 in-stock tracked wine products in the UK section cost more than this one.

Retailer product description

Reproduced from a tracked retailer’s product feed for identification; it is not BottlePicker editorial content.

Cellar for up to 5 years. Serve chilled. With just 8 hectares under vine, this boutique winery has been in the hands of the same family for generations and is currently run by talented winemaker Giorgio Clai. The Clai family’s winemaking philosophy centres around a celebration of indigenous grapes which they skillfully blend with popular international varieties that suit the Istrian terroir. Their Bijeli is a dry white blend of local Istrian malvasia, Pinot gris, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc which are all harvested from the family’s organically-farmed vineyards on the Istrian Peninsula close to the border with Italy. After the harvest the grape must is vinified along with the skins using wild yeasts which are naturally present on the skins of the grapes. The wine is then aged in large wooden casks for around 15 months to soften and integrate the four different components until Giorgio decides it is ready to bottle and release. Giorgio’s wines have developed a cult following in top restaurants and wine bars all over the world and it’s easy to see why once you take a sip of his stunning Bijeli. On the nose there are seductive notes of lemon curd, acacia flowers, ripe peaches and caramel, while the palate is well-rounded with spicy hints from the barrel ageing and plenty of ripe stone fruit and orange flavours.