Malvasia Ma-Jantar Black Label Nando 2018 (Orange Wine) 2018

Malvasia Ma-Jantar Black Label Nando, Organic Orange Wine, long Skin Maceration, concentrated, deep, complex, fascinating. Compared with its blue label counterpart, this expression of Malvasia spends 4 months on the skins and is matured in used barrels. It still has the same ripe stone fruits, ginger and sweet spice, but it a much deeper golden colour, with richer structure and more of that savouriness which makes orange wines so fascinating. The Malvasia, an indigenous grape also famed in Friuli is an excellent point for orange wine. If you’ve enjoyed the Blue labels from Nando and are looking for a way to further your education, this is perfect.

This small winery based in Slovenia right on the border with the Collio region of Friuli produces traditional orange wines of great value.

It is a small operation, just 5.5 hectares – 60% of which are in Friuli- Collio, the rest on the Slovenian side of the border. Here they have a unique micro-climate - warm, mediterranean sea air, cooled by the Julian Alps just north of the estate. All the farming is organic although not certified and mainly local grapes are used – Rebula (aka Ribolla Gialla); Malvazija (Malvasia) and Friuliano. Fermentation takes place naturally with no addition of sulphites (though a touch is used at bottling). Andrej Kristancic now runs the winery named after his Grandfather and produces orange wines of excellent quality and typicity with better than average value for money.