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.
DOMAINE SAUVETERRE
Bouchat M 2020
Burgundy, France
Chardonnay from a parcel of forty year old vines planted over heavy clay in Montbellet. The grapes were macerated on the skins as whole bunches for a fortnight, before being pressed to old barrels for eighteen months of elévage. From a warm, dry vintage, this is a wine of great depth and savoury complexity, with neat tannins framing notes of warm citrus, earth and spice.
Chardonnay
LE COSTE
Bianco de Coccio 2020
Lazio, Italy
The only wine raised entirely in terracotta amphorae from this vintage and what a wine it is. Mostly Procanico, there is also a little Malvasia, Moscato and other local varieties in the mix. The grapes were destemmed and fermented on the skins for a fortnight, before a year of élevage in the clay vessels, rendering a deep, powerful amber wine that is all baked citrus, earth and spice.
Procanico, Malvasia, Moscato
DOMAINE DE L’OCTAVIN
Cigogne 2021
Jura, France
A blend of equal parts Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris from the biodynamic vineyards of the Humbrecht family in Alsace. The grapes were fermented as whole bunches for four weeks before being pressed off to cuve to rest until spring. A hazy shade of amber, the heady notes of quince and spice are offset by fine tannins and a bitterness that complements any exuberance beautifully.
Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris