Fil·loxera & Cía Mujer Caballo Naranja 2021

Mujer Caballo Naranja is made by Fil·loxera & Cía, the project of Pilar Esteve, José Domenech and Joan Llobell in D.O. Utiel-Requena, Valencia. Their faith in micro-plots, small mapped parcels managed separately for their soil, exposure and drainage, allows precise farming and a clearer expression of each site. This is an orange wine from Valencí and Moscatel, made naturally and with respectful agriculture. The grapes are macerated on their skins to draw out the amber colour and phenolic grip, then the wine spends eight months ageing in a combination of barrel and stainless steel. The steel keeps part of the blend fresh and primary while the barrel adds slow oxygen exchange, a touch of wood spice and an oxidative, savoury complexity that builds the wine's structure. At 14.4 percent it carries real weight on the palate. The continental Utiel-Requena plateau, high and dry inland from the coast, gives ripeness with retained acidity. The wine is a deep amber. The nose leads with intense citrus and orange marmalade, apricot and dried herbs over a faint oak frame. The palate is dry, full and grippy, the Moscatel perfume meeting skin tannin and a nutty, honeyed finish. Serve at 12 to 14 degrees. A wine that needs food.