Ribolla Radikon 500ml (Orange Wine) 2017

Ribolla Radikon Orange Wine, biodynamic, 4 months on the skins, no added sulphur, rich, structured savoury wine for hearty food. Ribolla Gialla can be a quite light, fairly neutral white wine when the yields are high however when treated in the correct way, it can produce wines of immense complexity. This outstanding example from Radikon is hazy orange with explosive aromatics of quince, fresh orange zest, and apricot. Big and textured with fine tannins and bracing acidity that makes this almost chuggable in its combination of density and freshness. Amazing stuff in the now Iconic Radikon half litre bottle just perfect for one person when you fancy a night to yourself, some top notch grub and some stunning Orange wine.

Radikon is a 12 hectare estate in Friuli on the Slovenian border of Italy, and is a truly unique winery.  It lies in the heartland of a region which has become synonymous with skin contact and Orange wine.

The king of orange wines as far as we are concerned is Radikon. Stanko Radikon lead this groundbreaking winery from 1995.  He revitalised skin contact for white wine and helped also pave the way for the natural wine movement.  He realised back then that the local indigenous grape, Ribolla Gialla, needed to be treated differently to other varieties.  He turned to his Grandfather’s method of vinification.  This involved seven days of skin maceration.  Stanko continued to experiment with this technique over the years.  He refined and perfected it along the way and also employed biodynamic principles at the winery. 

Today's classic wines made from Ribolla and Friulano have around three months of maceration, with long periods of barrel and bottle ageing.  These stunning bottles are in 500ml and 1 litre formats with thin bottle necks and corks.  Radikon believes these special bottles and corks help the ageing process in bottle.  These are wines which will age beautifully for well over 10 years.  Radikon also make a range of earlier drinking wines with a shorter skin maceration. 

The wines are truly fascinating, with unbelievable complexity, profound flavours yet immense freshness. 

Since Stanko sadly passed away in 2016, his son Saša continues in his father's tradition.  He maintains the same high standards and attention to detail.  Some would say he is making even better wine than his Father.