La Saco Noblo Irago Domaine Milan 2011 (Skin contact Oxidised wine)

La Saco Noblo Irago Domaine Milan (Skin contact Oxidised wine) , natural wine, organic wine, a late harvest wine with long oxidative ageing. Musk of Black Assam & smoky earl grey, with Liquorice, honey and dried raisin. The senses consumed by oxidative notes. This is a rare experimental wine from the outstanding Milan domaine in St Remy de Provence, one of our personal favourite wineries of all time. The wine is rich and fascinating but very much a wine for specific food pairing, certain rich desserts and very strong cheeses, think of it as a dry oxidised Sherry bit with higher acidity, it has all those Christmas flavours that make it great this time of year.

Henri Milan has always done thing his way, and broke away from the Baux de Provence AOC so as to have the freedom to produce the wines he wanted. The Domaine was started by Henri's father Robert in 1956, but it wasn't until Henri took over in the mid-80s that he converted to organic production. Influenced by Claude Courtois and Claude Bourguignon, Henri began to vinify the different sections of his vineyard separately and moved further towards natural production. He now grows a number of grape varieties including Grenache, Syrah, Grenache Blanc, Rolle, Roussanne and Chardonnay. The only chemical treatment used during the entire process of growth and vinification is a small amount of sulphur dioxide, which is added, on some rare occasions, during bottling. Fermentation always takes place naturally, with the grapes blended at the beginning of the process, rather than at the end. His wines have a wonderful purity and expression of terroir.