ORANGE features a selection of macerations which invigorate and excite. Offering examples so filigree and fine they could be classified as genre-defying, alongside those with enough flesh and grip to stand up to the most robust of cooking, few wines are as versatile on the table as these.
VINYER DE LA RUCA
Hapax 2024
Roussillon, France
A blend of Grenache Blanc, Gris and Noir from a parcel planted over schist high in the hills of Banyuls. The varieties were picked together, foot stomped and pressed in an old basket press on the same day. Fermentation and élevage took place in terracotta amphorae, rendering an amber wine heady with resinous herbs, citrus and sea salt.
Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, Grenache Noir
CANTINA GIARDINO
NA 2024
Campania, Italy
A blend of Coda di Volpe, Fiano and Greco from old vines in Montemarano. This spent just two days on the skins before being pressed off to a combination of stoneware, concrete and large chestnut casks. Reflecting the year that was, this is a little more compact and elegant than previous releases, with gentle notes of stone fruits, smoke and spice framed by neat tannins. A wine that really punches above its weight.
Coda di Volpe, Fiano, Greco
AJOLA
Bianco 2023
Umbria, Italy
A blend of Procanico and Trebbiano from vineyards planted over clay and limestone in Pitigliano. The grapes fermented as whole bunches for a week, before being pressed to vats for a year. A deeper shade of amber, this is a little more full, with firm tannins and savoury notes of baked citrus, earth and spice.
Procanico, Trebbiano