Malvasia Blue Label Nando (Orange Wine) 2020

Malvasia Blue Label Nando, Organic Orange Wine, short Skin Maceration, concentrated yet very fresh, elegant, approachable, ripe stone fruits, ginger, sweet spice, dried fruits, not too tannic. The Malvasia, an indigenous grape also famed in Friuli is an excellent point for orange wine. It is not too extreme, tannic or aged and so makes for easy drinking orange. There is plenty of ripe fresh fruit characteristics as well as secondary orange notes. A very well balanced and tasty wine.

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.