Description
About a decade ago, Filip Koletnik, the winemaker producing under his label Atimo, left his management position at a big German business firm in order to change his life and follow his real passion: learning to make wine. Koletnik will tell you immediately, however, that ‘winemaking’ isn’t the right word; he says, “Mother Nature is the author of my wines.” Koletnik wants the Atimo wines to be about where they’re from, how they’re grown, and very little about his hand. As a result, Koletnik’s vinification is nearly identical across every wine—all three of them, which he produces in minuscule quantities.
Koletnik permanently resides in a small village near Premantura in Istria, Croatia. Near his home, he sources organically grown Malvazija from one trusted vigneron friend. In the cellar, Filip follows the firm belief that the best things are natural and that the grape itself contains everything that is needed to create the wine. He interferes as little as possible to produce wines that both reflect the terroir and the moment that they come from. This means no cultured yeast, no fining or filtration, no temperature control and no added sulphur. The wine macerates for nine months in old 500-litre tonneaux barrels followed by ageing in old oak barrels on the lees for a minimum of 12 months.
