Sanctum

Sanctum: Something Hidden, Sacred

Perched high on the hills above the town of Loče, in Slovenia’s Styrian region (Štajerska), lies the small winery, Sanctum, producing wines of pure Slovenian expressions with the beautiful influence of Burgundy’s heritage in the region.

The estate’s name, Sanctum, refers to “something hidden and sacred,” reflecting the reverence of history and artisanry that Marko Podkubovšek brings to his vineyards and cellar.

From the very beginning, Marko has sought to unearth and continue the rich winemaking legacy left by Carthusian monks in the 12th century, who originally established a monastery in these hills and found at this time the excellent terroir to establish Burgundian viticulture amongst the forested, marl-rich landscape.

When Marko decided to move back home and focus on his winery early after Slovenia’s independence, at that time Slovenian winemakers and wine regions were still struggling to establish what their regional identity would be rooted in, following that which was stripped during communism. Marko was a visionary in committing to focusing on the deep vinicultural origins through the Carthusian monks history in the region. While many dismissed the idea of making great wines with these grapes in the region, the same can be said throughout history, that bold ideas are often dismissed as folly. For example, when Marko first showed up to the post-office with 3 kilos of his vineyard soil to ship to François Ferer in Burgundy for analysis, locals assumed he had lost his mind. Yet decades later his wines are now aged in barrels from the same famed cooperage used at DRC, and now at 80 years young, Marko’s wines are elegant, precise, and reminiscent of some of the great wines of Burgundy, while still presenting tremendous value.

Rediscovering Štajerska Terroir

In 2015, Marko met another local winemaker who was using local grapes and producing wines under minimal intervention, who as a foreigner (a New Zealand ex-pat), was pushing against convention and tradition. Marko brought him on to assist in steering Sanctum in a new direction and discovered the brilliance of what sustainable farming and minimal-intervention winemaking could capture. Shifting in his winery’s approach, now vineyard selection and the terroir of the Styrian hills play an important role in capturing the elegance in his wines. They now farm 7 hectares of vineyards, planted on steep, scattered south-facing slopes with marl and clay soils, offering ideal conditions for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and their rare local expression of Syrah.  They also have a small plot of the hybrid grape Souvignier Gris, while they purchase some grapes from neighboring hills such as Zweigelt, Blaufrankisch, and different expressions of Pinot Noir.

Their cool climate location tucked within wind-rich valleys, amidst a plethora of forests and micro diversity, preserves deep acidity, minerality and character in the wines.

In farming, respect for nature guides every decision with no irrigation or use of synthetic herbicides in the vineyards. In the cellar, all varietals are vinified separately, fermented spontaneously with native yeasts, and all seeing elevage, aged in neutral French barriques or 500-liter French and Slavonian oak barrels. This approach produces wines that are elegant, balanced, and truly expressive of their unique terroir.

Marko’s passion is now joined by his head winemaker, Dejan Tomić, whose winemaking experience from Serbia and a biodynamic estate in the Piedmont of Italy, brings a fresh perspective. Together, they have continued to elevate the estate’s wines, with styles and labels that reflect both the artistry of the wines and the natural beauty surrounding the estate, producing roughly 60,000 bottles annually.

Marko’s vision, combined with Dejan’s craft, ensures that every vintage tells the story of passion, perseverance, and a sacred connection to the land. With each bottle, Sanctum captures not only the elegance of its Styrian terroir but also the vision of a winemaker who dared to dream, and now shows it.

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