Ribolla Radikon 2011/12 500ml (Orange Wine)

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 on the Slovenian border of Italy, and is a truly unique winery. The king of orange wines as far as we are concerned. Stanko Radikon captained this groundbreaking winery since 1995, paving the way for the natural wine movement. He realised that the local indigenous grape, Ribolla Gialla, needed to be treated differently to other varieties so he turned to his grandfather’s method of vinification, which involved seven days of skin maceration. Stanko experimented with this technique and today's wines have around three months of maceration, along with long periods of barrel and bottle ageing. Working this way has meant that he has been able to cut out the use of sulphites entirely. The specially designed bottles allow for better development in bottle, and he only uses the highest quality corks that avoid cork taint. His grape selection is so meticulous, it is usual for a whole vine to go into making just one single bottle. His wines are truly fascinating, with unbelievable complexity, high ageing potential and profound, wild, flavours.

Since Stanko passed away recently, his son Saša Radikon continues in his father's tradition, maintaining the same high standards.