La Salada El Raig Verd 2025

Toni Carbó makes wines at Celler La Salada in Catalonia, each one tied to a memory, and El Raig Verd takes its name from Éric Rohmer's film about the fleeting green flash seen at sunset. It is an orange wine blending Malvasía and Macabeo, two traditional Catalan whites. The aromatic Malvasía brings perfume and the Macabeo lends freshness and a firm acid backbone. The grapes ferment with a period of skin contact and then age for seven months in stainless steel. Holding the wine in inert steel keeps the fruit clean and bright, while the brief maceration gives only a gentle phenolic grip and a faint amber tint, so the wine stays light at 11 percent. The colour is pale gold, with a nose of lemon, green apple and white flowers. The palate is dry and fresh, with white-peach fruit, dried-herb tones, a light grip and a crisp, saline finish. Natural and organic, made with minimal intervention. Serve well chilled at 9 to 11 degrees as an aperitif, or alongside light fish, shellfish and salads.