Ribolla Radikon 2011 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.

Stanko Radikon is one of the Pioneers of Orange wine in Friuli. Alongside other notables such as Josko Gravner, he started experimenting with skin contact for white grapes in 1995, a technique which was employed by his own Grandfather. Stanko's relentless and innovative pursuit of complexity and natural production put him at odds with many of his contemporaries and the wines took a long time to be understood and established. But Stanko knew he was making magic and he persisted. The skin macerations became longer, up to 3 or 4 months for some wines and he realised there was no real need for sulphur and stopped adding it altogether in 2003. About that time Stanko became fully biodynamic and also pioneered the use of 500ml and 1 litre bottles along with his friend and fellow natural wine maker Edi Kante. The smaller bottles with a narrow neck mimic the slower micro-oxygenation of the magnum format and so allow for much longer ageing of the wines.

Now in his sixties, Stanko has passed on much of the wine making responsibility to his equally intelligent and capable son Sasa who is driving the 11 hectare estate forward with energy and passion. Sasa has developed some earlier drinking cuvee in the standard 750ml bottle, a single varietal Pinot Grigio and a Chardonnay, Tocai blend, Slatnik. These wines have a shorter 12-15 day skin contact and are a fantastic entry point for the wine lovers into the world of Orange. The other wines developed 20 years ago by Stanko are aged in barrels and have very long skin contact and are for long ageing in bottle. We have a few 2006 and these are deep, intense, savoury and structured. They will continue to mature for decades yet incredibly, these wines never cease to retain their freshness.

Stanko Radikon truly is one of the modern wine pioneers and his Iconic bottles are a unqiue drinking experience. Give them a try, they are a unique taste of nature.