Jean-Yves Péron Les Oeillets 2023

Jean-Yves Peron returned to Savoy in 2004 after studying in Bordeaux and working with Thierry Allemand in Cornas and Bruno Schueller in Alsace, settling in the village of Chevaline in the French Alps. Les Oeillets is a natural orange wine from Jacquere, the region's traditional white grape, grown on sloping micro-plots cultivated with minimal intervention. The high-altitude limestone soils and cold mountain nights preserve sharp acidity and give the wine its mineral, saline character. The grapes are given skin contact, which adds light tannin and texture and a faint amber tint while the wine stays fresh rather than oxidative. At a very low 9.5 percent this is a delicate, energetic style of orange wine, fermented on native yeasts with minimal sulphur to keep the fruit lively. The colour is pale amber. The nose shows green apple, lemon and pear over white flowers and dried herbs. The palate is dry, light and lightly textured, with a saline edge and a crisp, herbal finish. Serve at 10 to 12 degrees. It works as an aperitif and with white fish, salads and goat cheese.